Eddie Howe provides brutal transfer reality check after latest Newcastle setback
Eddie Howe has admitted Newcastle can’t afford to sign £50m Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke - and offered no guarantees that major players won’t be sold.
The Toon head coach says the Geordies don’t have any friends in the transfer market willing to loan a player. Howe reacted to Newcastle officials publishing the club’s accounts on Thursday, which showed a £73m loss last year, and the club right up against profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
He has been linked with Solanke this week, who he signed for Bournemouth for £19m when boss on the South Coast. But Howe said: “It is a frustrating story. We have not made an enquiry. I love Dominic and signed him, and rate him hightly. We don’t have the ability to sign a player of that level.”
Asked today to give assurances that stars like Bruno Guimaraes, Alexander Isak or kids like Sean Longstaff won’t be sold, Howe said: “I can’t offer any assurance on that regardless of our FFP situation. You can never tell what will happen in football.
“Every Premier League club will sell players. Man City have sold some very good players. Their income is the highest of any club. That is the landscape for everyone. We reluctantly sold Allan Saint Maximin in the summer.”
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Currently Newcaste have no plans to spend this month. They’d like to loan Man City’s Kalvin Phillips and Howe will push to do something because Joelinton is the latest player out injured for six weeks.
But it’s tough going, and Howe admitted: “ I'm not sure we have many friends in the market. I'm not sure there's many clubs out there that are willing to help us currently. To agree to a loan deal, you need the club to agree to that deal so we're in that moment.”
Eddie Howe has admitted that Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke is out of Newcastle's reach (Getty Images)Asked directly about selling a home grown academy player, who offer pure profit to help ease their PSR position, Howe did offer encouragement to local lad Longstaff. He said: “The rules are a shame because it shouldn’t be that way. Players you invest in and develop shouldn’t be the ones you benefit more from selling.
“Sean has a long term future here. Hopefully I have demonstrated that with my picking of him in most games I have had the opportunity to. He has become a vital part of my midfield.
“So yes, we love him and we love Lewy and all our academy kids. They have an attachment to the football club that you can only have being local. We desperately don’t want to lose that.”
Joelinton is out for six weeks and Howe said: “It’s not good, he will miss a minimum of six weeks. It is a real blow for us. He has had a stop start season He has had a few problems and this is a big one.
Joelinton is set to be sidelined for six weeks throuhg injury“It’s a tendon in his quad. It is a difficult place to get an injury. He is disappointed and he wants to play and do well. We have had to do a job of picking him up.
“No one is immediately coming back and we have no one like Joelinton. He is our midfield driving force, there is no one like him so it is a big blow.”
Harvey Barnes is running on grass again and kicking a ball but not close. Jacob Murphy has joined in training on a non contact basis and Callum Wilson could be back for the Aston Villa game.
Elliot Anderson is out long term with a back fracture, but Joe Willock is building up the strength in his Achilles tendon.
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Newcastle face Manchester CIty on Saturday night with Howe saying Pep Guardiola is the “best manager in the world”. He added: “Man City are the team to beat. Their record has been incredible. They have always timed their run, second half of the season, they have got momentum and been difficult to play against. But we can compete.”
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