Eddie Howe and Paul Mitchell have held clean the air talks following a tumultuous summer at Newcastle United.
Tensions have been high at St James’ Park due to changes behind the scenes. Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi – two of Howe’s closest allies – departed with Paul Mitchell arriving as sporting director while chief executive officer Darren Eales was handed extra responsibility. The summer transfer window proved to be a failure with Mitchell, in his “supporting role”, failing to seal a deal for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, who was Howe’s number on transfer target.
Mitchell then addressed the transfer window and several other topics in a sitdown with journalists earlier this month. His comments questioning if the club’s transfer policy was fit for purpose made headlines. In response, Howe said he was “very proud” of the players he’d signed as the Magpies’ head coach and that everyone can hold their heads up very high.”
In the same press conference, two days before the 2-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Howe revealed he had not spoken to Mitchell since his interview. That led to further fears that all was not well between the pair, however those fears have been allayed. As per iNews, both Howe and Mitchell have now held constructive dialogue and there is now confidence that any differences have been ironed out. It’s also claimed Howe has backed Mitchell’s “planned tweak of the recruitment remit and outlook”.
“Should our scouting and recruitment be driven more extensively with a wider reaching net? It definitely should be because this is becoming a really nuanced space now, when you just can’t capitally fund everything every year and buying loads of players at peak age and peak price,” said Mitchell.
“Of course it needs to be, and that’s the responsibility of me, the scouting team, the recruitment team and Eddie. To do that, to look at that. Is it fit for purpose? “Not last winter gone, the winter before that. Is it fit for purpose in the modern game, with the modern challenges? Because other clubs that have maybe adopted a different approach over time, with more intelligence, maybe more data-informed than what we are, actually prospered, didn’t they, this window? And I think that’s where we have to grow to be now.
“It’s kind of the next phase of the growth of this project. We have to become better in this area of expertise, and there’s a skill.” Mitchell also hinted at finding a balance between recruiting from Premier League rivals and overseas clubs.
He said: “I just think there probably needs to be more of a balance at looking externally and globally and looking that way and stretch our radius. It’s normal to look domestically. There just needs to be a better balance. But we have signed players from abroad. We have done that, it’s clear. “Should we stretch our radius, look at where there’s under-valued pockets of talent, like the way I managed to do quite successfully at Monaco should we balance our strategy.”
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