Newcastle may not appoint a director of football until AFTER the January transfer window, according to The Athletic.
Many Toon fans believed a sporting director would shortly follow Eddie Howe’s arrival on Tyneside but, with just six weeks to go until the window opens, it is feared that may not be the case.
David Ornstein claims former Chelsea supremo Michael Emenalo is ‘ready to start’ after already presenting a plan to the Saudi-backed consortium for January and beyond, with the process intentionally taking longer than expected so the right man is hired.
That means Howe, alongside chief scout Steve Nickson and possibly Amanda Staveley, could be in charge of what players are brought into the club in January.
This, in my view, could actually be a good thing.
Howe will likely have the final say on all transfers for the time being and he knows the Premier League better than anybody else at the club. That is exactly what we need right now if we are to give ourselves the best chance of survival.
Appointing a director of football fits into our long-term strategy. Is it really that important to appoint a director of football right now? I don’t think so. Staying in the top flight is the utmost priority.
One worrying line from the article, however, writes that there is some confusion as to who is in charge right now among the consortium.
Hopefully, once a CEO and director of football is appointed, these teething problems will be ironed out and things will run a lot more smoothly at NUFC.
