Eddie Howe says Newcastle United received little help from domestic clubs during the summer transfer window.
What’s the latest Newcastle United transfer news?
Alexander Isak became the final and headline arrival of a productive summer for Newcastle, with the Sweden international joining for what is believed to be a club-record £60m fee from Real Sociedad.
Sven Botman and Nick Pope also joined Howe’s side, strengthening in key areas, while Matt Targett’s loan move from Aston Villa was turned into a permanent deal.
All in all, it was an impressive window from a club who simply refuse to be held to ransom despite their newfound wealth.
Still, there were struggles when it came to shopping for English-based players.
A loan offer for Armando Broja was rejected, while Timo Werner instead left Chelsea for RB Leipzig despite Newcastle’s interest. Watford held firm over Joao Pedro, as did West Ham with Harrison Ashby. James Maddison, meanwhile, is said to have been the subject of a series of rejected offers.
What did Howe say of the transfer window?
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Crystal Palace, the head coach said (via BBC Sport): “Domestic clubs didn’t want to be seen to be helping us. We’ll have to take that, that is part of where we are at the moment.
“We have certainly found there is no-one there ready to do us a favour. It’s the narrative regarding us that has changed. If there is anything domestically, teams will put their price up if it is Newcastle.
“There is a real feeling of us internally knowing we are against everybody else. That is healthy and I would embrace that.”
Is this something Newcastle will have to get used to?
Absolutely.
Whether or not the reluctance of clubs is based on any moral outrage due to the Saudi Arabian takeover is unclear, though that would appear unlikely given Manchester City have little issue in conducting business.
Such outrage would be fair, of course, in that everyone is entitled to feel whatever they so wish – particularly after such a controversial takeover – but it’s hard to imagine clubs refusing to do any kind of business, given the sums generally involved.
Sources have previously told Nothing but Newcastle that the club are hopeful of avoiding a cartel to block domestic moves, although that does not mean rival clubs won’t make deals more difficult to do.
The most realistic explanation would surely be that selling clubs know Newcastle have funds to play with. Indeed, it makes sense for them to pitch the prices up even if the directors have shown little desire to pay over the odds for players.
As frustrating as it is for Newcastle, its logical from the selling clubs’ perspective.
