Eddie Howe drops January transfer hint during BBC Radio 5 Live interview

Eddie Howe has hinted at a quiet January transfer window for Newcastle United, playing down suggestions we’ll spend big in a bid to secure a top four finish.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, the Toon boss said he doesn’t expect “massive help” via a flurry of new signings this winter, admitting Financial Fair Play could completely restrict incomings.

Both Dan Ashworth and Howe have both described our recent spending as ‘unsustainable’, with the club shelling out over £200m in 2022 on the likes of Alexander Isak, Sven Botman, Bruno Guimaraes, Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood.

Earlier this week, The Telegraph released a report on our transfer plans for 2023, insisting that our owners will stick to the plan of achieving sustainable success – meaning the bulk of our business could wait until the summer, not in a typically inflated January window.

Here’s what Howe has had to say when asked if we’ll be looking to boost our European hopes in January:

“I don’t think we’re quite looking at it in that way, in terms of the window being a massive help for us.

“It’s early to have those conversations.

“We haven’t had any internally with the club in terms of what direction we go in January – if even at all with Financial Fair Play.

“The key thing for us is that we come back and the spirit is not damaged. The group is in such a good place at the moment. Everyone is fighting for the same cause.

“The level of the group, what the players are producing is very high, and we do have players to come back and help us even more, which is the exciting thing.”

Quite rightly, Howe sees the importance of keeping the current group happy – especially when the team spirit and performance level has been so high following our rise up to third in the Premier League.

It’s also true that we’ll have some key players back after the World Cup, with it easy to forget that Isak, Saint-Maximin and Shelvey have all missed huge chunks of the season.

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