It’s emerged that Eddie Howe held talks with co-owners and key decision makers at Newcastle United last night to discuss our summer transfer plans and potential budget.
Speaking after Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea, Howe has shed light on the meeting, his hopes for the summer and some of the battles facing our recruitment team over the coming months.
The good news is he’s confirmed our plan to bring in real ‘quality’, also revealing that our budget has been given a much needed ‘lift’ following a top-four finish.
However, he admitted that wage demands could be an issue in our bid to sign ‘the very, very best players on the market’, accepting the Premier League’s big boys ‘will all dwarf us’ in terms of their ability to hand out huge contracts.
Howe added that the budget is ‘never as big as you want it to be’ and reminded fans that FFP will play a part once again, but it’s clear the draw of Champions League football and the financial boost it brings will aid our search for top quality signings this summer.
Here’s what he told the press after our final day draw at Stamford Bridge:
“We’re looking to add quality players. Now, this is not just the transfer fees as such, it’s the wages, and we’re not huge payers of wages in the Premier League. So the big clubs will all dwarf us in terms of that, so it makes it hard to attract the very, very best players on the market.”
“We had discussions last night – those discussions did take place. I don’t think a budget is ever outlined because there’s always so many variables to it, but we certainly know where we stand.
“Is the budget big? Well, when you’re sat in my shoes, it’s never as big as you want it to be. Financial Fair Play, as I always say, will impact what we do this summer.
“Certainly, without Champions League football, it would have been very difficult for us to have done much in the transfer market at all. The fact we have that has given us a bit of a lift.“
