Eddie Howe admits it’s “difficult to say” what will happen over the final three weeks of the summer window, hinting that he’s no longer taking such a hands on role with transfers following Paul Mitchell’s arrival.
He did stress that any signings “have to make sense” and take us to a “new level”, whether it’s a position we need to strengthen in or a certain player who “becomes available on the market”, with it well documented that we’re in talks to sign Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi at centre-back and searching for a suitable right-winger.
Howe also praised our “really tough” 1-0 win over a competitive Brest side, feeling we looked a “bit rusty” both technically and tactically but will benefit from a good test against a side who finished third in Ligue 1 last season.
He hailed Will Osula’s display, feeling his pace, impressive disallowed finish and movement shows why we pushed to sign him, also revealing that he wasn’t up to speed physically after missing some training due to concussion.
On Fabian Schar, Howe is hoping his ankle issue isn’t “too bad”, but the player himself has already eased fears with a positive post on social media, saying: ‘Good runout and great to see so many of you at SJP. Fully focused on the big start to the season next week.’
Here’s what Howe had to say, also featuring some comments on a rare start for £15m forgotten man Jamal Lewis, who he admits could depart before the deadline later this month:
Howe on transfers – “Difficult to say exactly what’s going to happen. These things aren’t exactly in my hands and I’m not really dealing with them, now we have other people in place to take control of those situations, allowing me to focus on coaching the team.
“They have to make sense, whether that’s a positional need or something becomes available in the market that we really like. Of course, you’re looking to strengthen the group and improve the first team.
“We’re hopeful to be active and to add at least one player to the group. Let’s wait and see. It has to be about quality rather than quantity for us because we have got such a good squad, anyway, that if you’re going to add players to it, they have to push the group to new levels – so that’s what we’re looking for, which is very difficult to find. There are not many players that will make us better.
“You have to stay calm. I don’t think there’s any use in any other emotion. We will try to make the right decisions given the conditions that we’re working in. The window has been slightly slower this year. It does seem to be picking up now.”
Howe on 1-0 win over Brest – “A really tough game today. We weren’t quite at full speed and a lot of players needed the game. It looked like a team that hadn’t had a lot of minutes and it hadn’t when you add up who has played what during pre-season it’s been very fragmented for the players involved, whether that be due to injury or international schedules.
“We looked a bit rusty and slightly off, technically and tactically. But saying that, I thought it was a bright start, it was a really good opening to the game and we scored a really good goal but just couldn’t sustain that intensity and dropped off. Second-half it was probably about not conceding and we managed to do that.”
Howe on Will Osula – “He did really well when you consider when he joined us he hadn’t trained for seven or eight days with a concussion. We knew playing today he wasn’t at his peak physical condition.
“I thought he showed his qualities today and what he’s going to bring to the team, his pace, strength and took his goal really well – the pace, the run, the finish. He was unlucky with the marginal offside. I think he’ll be really pleased with his efforts. You can see why we brought him to the club.”
Howe on Fabian Schar – “I haven’t spoken with Fabby yet, I hope it’s not too bad. It seemed like an ankle twist. He obviously felt a little discomfort but we hope he’ll be OK.”
Howe on Jamal Lewis – “While he’s still here we’ll treat him with the respect he definitely deserves from how he’s conducted himself. He’s had a good pre-season but there is a chance he could end up leaving. We’ll work with him to find the solution he wants for his career.”
Good runout and great to see so many of you at SJP 🖤🤍
Fully focused on the big start to the season next week 👊🏽 pic.twitter.com/L92eM8T2mt
— Fabian Lukas Schär (@fabianschaer) August 10, 2024
