In his press conference this morning, Eddie Howe was quizzed about reports linking Newcastle with an ambitious move for West Ham midfielder Declan Rice.
His response was quite telling. He didn’t deny talk of our interest and insisted that we’ll be in the market for “elite players” this summer, believing anyone we sign must be better than the current options in our squad to ensure we continue improving.
Howe did admit that “a lot” will depend on what European competitions we are playing in next season – Champions League will be needed to attract top players like Rice and will go a long way to boosting our budget, too.
Here’s what Howe had to say when The Mirror’s Simon Bird asked if we could afford a mega-money move for Declan Rice:
“That is a difficult question to answer. We are trying to build the best squad we can. I think a lot will probably depend on what competitions we are playing in next year as to what we can and can’t do.
“I think we will always try to gauge it (spending a lot on one player) in every situation.
“Our strategy last summer was to try and find quality players for the positions that we needed not to bring in a host of players who don’t necessarily improve our starting XI or squad.
“I don’t think our strategy will change. We want elite players because we have an elite squad. If we do add anyone in they have to be better than the players we have.”
