Newcastle United summer signing on standby ahead of ‘astronomical’ transfer decision
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe is waiting for answers with crunch few days ahead on Marc Guehi
Lloyd Kelly is hoping to replace Fabian Schar in the heart of defence this weekend with Switzerland international Fabian Schar banned for the trip to Bournemouth – but that was far from the biggest storyline to emerge from Benton this morning.
Eddie Howe was able to confirm that former Cherries star Kelly is close to full fitness after a cameo against Southampton last weekend. But the big decisions that are rumbling on behind the scenes need to be resolved for Newcastle and Howe, not least whether Marc Guehi will arrive in a record breaking club transfer in the next few days.
Crystal Palace have stuck to their guns on Guehi and won’t take any deal that doesn’t suit them with Newcastle trying to get a £70m transfer pushed through.
Howe steered clear of answering anything too definitive on transfers today and insisted he is not getting “regular updates” from anybody on recruitment. It was a striking remark from the head coach given comments from previous seasons in which he had spoken of having a big influence on deals.
It’s clear that Dan Ashworth’s messy exit and the arrival of sporting director Paul Mitchell has sparked a change in dynamic. Howe’s Press conference ahead of the trip to AFC Bournemouth prompted conversations in the room about whether we are heading towards the explosive clash between Kevin Keegan and Dennis Wise in 2008 when things came to a head after rows on recruitment.
Back then the signings of Nacho Gonzalez and Xisco proved to be the final straw for Keegan who walked out of St James’ Park. But Keegan is a different character to Howe, the former Newcastle star wore his heart on his sleeve.
Within the Press conference today, Howe couched one question about Sandro Tonali’s personality and compared to his own suggesting that people do not always see the full picture. He said: “He is similar to me and my character, there is a lot going on beneath the surface but you don’t necessarily see it.”
About The Author
