Eddie Howe has warned Newcastle fans not to expect a summer revolution as the club prepares to enter the transfer market once again.
The Magpies’ new Saudi-backed owners sanctioned a £90million January spending spree which brought Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Dan Burn, Bruno Guimaraes and loan signing Matt Targett to Tyneside, an investment which has paid dividends in their fight against relegation from the Premier League.
It has also served to increase speculation about what they might do at the end of the campaign with big names and bigger fees raising excitement levels among the Toon Army.
However, asked about the summer recruitment plan, head coach Howe said: “I am happy with this squad while acknowledging that time never stands still.
“You have to continue to improve and evolve so I have no problem looking outward and saying we do need certain things.
“But I do not think it will be the revolution that everyone thinks it will be, and it can’t be because we are under financial restrictions.
“It is not just a case of signing anybody, and that would never be the way I work anyway because every individual has to fit within the structure of the team and make the team better, not just the individual.
Eddie Howe on Joe Willock:— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) April 15, 2022
“That is fundamental to our future, so for all those different reasons, I do not think it will ever be a case of wholesale changes.”
Howe’s men will continue their survival battle against Europa Conference League semi-finalists Leicester on Sunday having boosted their chances with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Wolves last weekend.
Crystal Palace follow the Foxes to St James’ in midweek and positive results in both games could edge Newcastle across the finishing line ahead of back-to-back clashes with top two Liverpool and Manchester City.
The Reds are due to head for Tyneside for a lunchtime kick-off on Saturday, April 30 with manager Jurgen Klopp having appealed to broadcaster BT Sport to reschedule the fixture to allow his players more time to recover from their Champions League semi-final showdown with Villarreal on the previous Wednesday evening.
Asked about Klopp’s plea, Howe, who could have midfielder Joe Willock back from injury, but has a doubt over Ryan Fraser, said: “I have every sympathy with Liverpool, but they’re winning lots of games and they’re in lots of competitions, naturally it’s going to be that way.
“It’s not up to us to decide when games are played. We ended up with four away games in very quick succession recently, which was far from ideal for us, but we had to bite the bullet and get on with it.”
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