Newcastle United’s Summer Plans:
The first order of the day for Eddie Howe and higher-ups at Newcastle will be to ascertain their spending room in accordance with Financial Fair Play rules.
Only able to flex their newfound financial might to an extent in January, the club spent in the region of £90m and to improve on that figure they will have to sell players. Who this may be is yet to be seen but the likes of Miguel Almirón, club-captain Jamaal Lascelles and goalkeeper Martin Dubravka have been suggested.
Another deciding factor in their movements this summer will be the ambition of the new owners and the timeframe which they have set to achieve them.
“I want my squad to be confident, ambitious,” manager Eddie Howe said regarding the targets set, as quoted by the Mirror. “They have to believe in big things and we have to set targets internally.”
"“I’d rather it stay internal than external because we have to also manage the expectation around the team. We don’t want them to play under an unnecessary burden and an unnecessary pressure that actually hampers our performance. Creating that mix is important, but I’d much prefer to keep things in-house.”"
In regard to the areas of Howe’s squad that require improvement; central defence, defensive midfield, upfront and on the wings are the areas in most need of reinforcement.