During the Premier League season, The Athletic’s Newcastle United subscribers can ask our writers covering the club for their views and insight into what’s happening at St James’ Park.
We have pulled together some of the questions and our answers from Monday’s edition of our Inside Newcastle live Q&A, which included queries about the futures of Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa, whether there will be a change of transfer strategy this summer, and what would be deemed the bare minimum in terms of an acceptable Premier League finish for the hierarchy.
Want to ask us anything else Newcastle-related? Chris Waugh will be back later this month for another session.
Will the arrival of Ross Wilson and David Hopkinson translate into a more astute summer with well-scouted, quality additions? — Jack C.
Waugh: The plan is for Newcastle to be calm and implement what they see as their clear transfer blueprint.
Many insiders would strongly refute the premise of your suggestion that previous additions have not been well scouted, but I accept that not all supporters are necessarily enamoured by the business conducted last summer. As of yet, beyond Malick Thiaw and, more recently, Jacob Ramsey, questions remain over the other additions made.
Wilson’s job as sporting director is not to scout the players himself — he does not view himself as a so-called ‘transfer guru’ — but to scrutinise why players are being targeted, to squad plan and then assess whether they should be signed. Eddie Howe, as head coach, retains the ultimate say, though.
The message is that Newcastle are not frightened to make bold decisions, be that with incomings or outgoings. Rather than repeat potential ‘mistakes’ or double down on what is now viewed as an incorrect decision, the fresh leadership team do not feel burdened by previous signings. They will make transfer calls with the future in mind, not the past.
That sounds encouraging in theory, but it is in practice that we will see whether Newcastle’s upcoming window is less chaotic than last summer’s. Incoming business was affected by a lack of a sporting director, but also the uncertainty surrounding Alexander Isak. With Howe unsure whether Isak was being sold until the final weekend of the window, that made recruiting a replacement centre-forward incredibly difficult, especially once previous targets to succeed Callum Wilson had moved elsewhere.
Newcastle must conduct significant squad surgery and, given the expected volume of incomings and outgoings, a 100 per cent success rate will be difficult to achieve. Critically, though, whatever Newcastle’s blueprint is, they must follow it closely and not deviate from it by becoming reactionary.
Ross Wilson (left) and David Hopkinson (right) (Serena Taylor/Getty Images)
Are we in a similar situation to Spurs and Man Utd last season; committing everything to knockout competitions at the expense of the league? — Benjamin H.
Waugh: The comparison is fair, given those clubs reached the Europa League final last season and Spurs won it, but it is not a direct one (yet).
Manchester United finished 15th and Spurs 17th in the Premier League. Although Newcastle are in 12th, they are not cut adrift from the upper-midtable bunch (though admittedly their present form of one win in seven league games suggests they could yet drop further).
What’s more, Ruben Amorim and Ange Postecoglou also essentially wrote off their league campaigns and placed their focus entirely on Europe. Howe has not done that so far and, even if he did, which I find highly unlikely, I am not convinced he would ever admit to it publicly.
Potentially to the detriment of Newcastle’s league form, Howe has actually tried to put out strong sides in every fixture. He has taken every game seriously, which is partly why Newcastle have gone deep in both cup competitions and the Champions League.
If Newcastle beat Manchester City on Saturday but lose to Manchester United in midweek, perhaps priorities will shift, and Howe will decide his team’s best route back to Europe is via cup glory. But it is also feasible given the draws that by mid-March Newcastle are out of the Champions League and FA Cup, so the league will be the only thing to focus on.
That represents a definite contrast with those clubs’ approaches last season, at least for now.
If some big players were to leave, are you confident we could attract quality replacements? — Davey T.
Waugh: That is the big question. The reality of Newcastle’s standing in the market is that there can be no guarantees about replacements making an immediate impact.
That is the hope, obviously, but one of the painful lessons of last summer is that when Newcastle try to compete with elite clubs for talent, especially those already proven at the top level, they will invariably lose out due to the wages they can afford to pay, the cache of historical success others can offer, and the greater guarantee of competing for trophies elsewhere in the short term.
Bruno Guimaraes is an exception that proves the rule, I suppose, but even then, many top clubs, including Arsenal, had watched the Brazilian and opted against signing him. Newcastle took a calculated gamble in that sense when doing so.
Even Sandro Tonali did not work out immediately, largely due to his 10-month ban for gambling offences, and Isak took time to develop into a world-class centre-forward.
Many fans are calling for Newcastle to sign fewer Premier League-based players and instead attempt to unearth gems from elsewhere. And while there is a valid argument for that — and under Wilson’s guidance they are expected to — it also brings with it a bigger risk factor, as not all imports will make that transition successfully, especially not immediately.
Tonali, Anthony Gordon and Tino Livramento, who are the players Newcastle are most likely to receive substantive interest in, will not be easily replaced, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise. There are a dearth of top-quality full-backs, few forwards boast Gordon’s pace and pressing ability, while there are not many midfielders with Tonali’s all-round skillset.
That does not mean they are irreplaceable, but it would be folly to suggest loads of obvious successors exist for each of them.
Will Newcastle cut their losses on Woltemade or Wissa in the summer? — Chris R.
Waugh: Newcastle will not be afraid to make bold decisions regarding players this summer, but as of yet, it does not seem that a call has been made to try and move either/both of Wissa and Woltemade on.
With Wissa, it is obvious he requires a full pre-season if he is going to have any genuine prospect of returning to full fitness. He was not a priority target last summer, and Newcastle knew they overpaid for him, but they were desperate and required a replacement for Wilson, having failed to land Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike, Benjamin Sesko or Jorgen Strand Larsen. There is definitely more to come from the 29-year-old, but that knee injury really appears to have affected him.
The big question would be, given his poor form, would there actually be any interest in someone approaching 30? I’d suggest little, certainly nowhere near the price for which Newcastle paid.
As for Woltemade, that is a different case.
Howe decided Newcastle were going to have to evolve as a team post-Isak, given the lack of like-for-like alternatives who even existed, nevermind who were attainable, and it will be fascinating to see whether that plan has been paused temporarily or permanently shelved.
To reprogram the team to play to Woltemade’s strengths has proven unfeasible during a hectic campaign with so few training sessions. Whether that will be revived with a full pre-season and with players signed who suit the German’s style and to play to his strengths remains to be seen.
It would not surprise me if one of the two did leave in the summer, with Newcastle bringing in a different centre-forward if someone they like proves attainable. But I can also envisage both being in the Newcastle squad next season, given the outlay and the fact that neither has yet to really show anything like their best consistently.
Is there a minimum acceptable league finish for the hierarchy? — Ross H.
Waugh: A ‘minimum acceptable’ league finish sounds rather dramatic, so I will lay out immediately that I do not think there is a position by which if Newcastle drop below, there is already a predetermined decision to change head coach. Relegation, perhaps, but I do not envisage Newcastle getting demoted.
In December, Wilson was asked by reporters whether Newcastle’s objective for the season was European qualification, and he said that he saw no reason why it should not be.
Theoretically, Newcastle could clinch European football by winning the FA Cup (or by lifting the Champions League trophy, as unlikely as that is), but would that merely mask a bottom-half top-flight finish and Howe’s inability to qualify for continental competition through the Premier League?
Newcastle’s hierarchy keep insisting they have full faith in Howe, and it appears unlikely that will change between now and the summer, beyond results really nosediving across all competitions. But they will also expect to see performances in the top flight improve during the run-in, especially if Newcastle exit the Champions League and FA Cup this month.
Newcastle’s hierarchy insist they have full faith in Howe (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Would the higher-ups consider pressuring Howe to make changes? Like pushing him to bring someone into the coaching staff to supplement his deficiencies there, or removing some of his control over transfers — Benjamin N.
Waugh: The suggestion that Howe would benefit from a fresh voice around him is something that has been discussed by at least some around the club and within wider footballing circles. Whether the head coach is receptive to the idea, is actively looking to bring someone new in, or it has even been floated to him, I am unsure, however.
Graeme Jones was a new addition to Howe’s backroom staff, and the assistant head coach he inherited has become someone who Howe trusts and bounces ideas off. Martin Mark arrived as set-piece coach last summer, but he is not necessarily a senior voice in the same way that Jason Tindall and Jones are.
Sir Alex Ferguson used to regularly change his assistants as he attempted to evolve and, especially when you have a largely similar group of players over an extended period, renewing the staff who are delivering messages can provide fresh stimulus. The alternative is to significantly shake up the playing squad instead so that messages are no longer stale, and that may be a more likely route, even if I would like to think Howe would be open enough to bringing a new face into his backroom staff to aid those who are already there.
When it comes to ‘control’ over transfers, Howe has always had the final call on incomings, and there has been no suggestion that ultimate say has been relinquished following Wilson’s arrival. Whether there will be greater scrutiny of potential targets and an increased/reformed pool of options floated towards Howe moving forward is another matter. The indications are that there will be at least tweaks to how incomings operate, but not in a way which will lessen Howe’s influence over who joins.
The players recruited will continue to be the ones the head coach wants.