Eddie Howe has never wanted quick fixes but Newcastle’s latest Champions League defeat laid bare how thin their squad has become.
Dan Ashworth wisely ruled himself out of the mess that is Manchester United last week, but anyone who feels he is taking an easy option by committing to Newcastle United is mistaken.
The towering project at St James’ Park is approaching a pivotal phase and their Champions League travails inevitably put Ashworth’s role in the spotlight.
It is a club with the ambition and potential resources to believe they can challenge the continent’s best but bruising back-to-back defeats against Borussia Dortmund illustrate how far they still have to travel. The club’s owners are patient and understanding but inevitably a summer when they spent £130m only to collide with an acute injury crisis by autumn will come into sharp focus.
Did they take their eye off the ball by looking to the future too much with moves for Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento? Ashworth will argue not given Livramento’s brilliant start in black and white but it feels as if January might be the right time to relax the remit and give Eddie Howe a helping hand with some short-term fixes.
Newcastle have been reluctant to do that so far and one United source told i that the way the club is run would make it “impossible” to suddenly start arguing the case for bringing in a crop of established 29-year-olds on big wages.
“Kieran Trippier shows there is flexibility for the right player but (owners) PIF are process-driven. They want to know the long-term value of investments in everything – and that includes player recruitment,” a source said.
In other words, a black and white version of Wout Weghorst is not on his way to St James’ Park.
Ashworth is the man charged with pulling all these strands together and January will be his most challenging transfer window yet. His recruitment team are tracking Blackburn’s Adam Wharton, for example, but is the 19-year-old really a solution right now?
Sources admit to i there was a measure of tension last summer between those competing priorities, whether to invest in the future or focus on the present. And while there is wiggle room in January – especially in the loan market – there’s no easy recruitment route to navigate if Newcastle want New Year signings.
Howe is no short-termist but many of his picks have revealed a longing for “right here, right now”‘ solutions. One of them last summer was Scott McTominay, not the most glamorous name but a player with a CV burnished by experience on the Champions League and international stage.
That particular move made no sense when Manchester United put a laughable £40m asking price on him but we can expect Howe to privately push for players who would arrive ready to plug in and play in January. Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips is one such option. Al-Hilal’s Ruben Neves is another, although that move would come with considerable baggage given PIF are majority owners of both clubs.
Where Ashworth and the club’s owners go next will tell us so much. So far they have managed to satisfy both aims with moves for the likes of Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali, but the latter’s long suspension for illegal gambling shows that even the best laid plans can go awry.
For Howe, the task now is to ensure Newcastle’s season stays on track before January arrives. Against Borussia Dortmund the result was bad but the performance wasn’t. Considering their stretched resources, Newcastle have been unfortunate to emerge from the two games with nothing.
Now it’ll be a case of counting heads for Bournemouth on Saturday and then after the international break, it’s 10 games in 36 days with both Champions League and Carabao Cup fates to be decided before the New Year.
Home games against Chelsea and Manchester United offer the opportunity to strike blows against top four rivals but with just 16 senior outfield players available they are seriously stretched.
Thursday could bring a further complication as i understands that Gareth Southgate is likely to call up Anthony Gordon, who has been Newcastle’s dynamo in recent weeks.
While that would undoubtedly represent vindication for the Magpies’ sales pitch to Gordon when they signed him, it is a mixed blessing. Newcastle would ideally like to give him a fortnight to rest and recuperate.
It was certainly telling that the Newcastle manager confessed Tuesday’s game had simply come “too soon” for Gordon after his Arsenal exertions pushed him firmly into the red zone where players risk injury from over exertion.
With Callum Wilson requiring careful protection and a personally tailored training programme to prevent a recurrence of his hamstring issues, Newcastle could end up very short in attacking areas. In an emergency Howe could break the glass and give the club’s former number nine Joelinton a run of games up front but removing him from midfield undoubtedly diminishes the club’s engine room options.
That is just one of the questions with no perfect answer rebounding around St James’ Park right now.
Five January options
Kalvin Phillips
Out of favour Manchester City midfielder is a perfect loan option for Newcastle and would arrive with the right mentality and ability to immediately improve them. Howe is a big fan of the player.
Amadou Onana
Everton midfielder has attracted plenty of interest from rival Premier League clubs but no-one was willing to take the plunge in the summer. A long-term solution but he would not come cheap.
Ruben Neves
Do Newcastle have the appetite for a potential fight with their Premier League rivals? A loan move for a player playing in Saudi Arabia would prompt a huge debate but Ashworth made it clear last week they are potentially prepared to go there.
Tammy Abraham
Callum Wilson signed a contract extension but i understands the club have begun the process of scouting strikers. Abraham, approaching the end of a long injury exile, is available as Roma look to balance their books.
Rayan Cherki
Ashworth’s job is to ensure Newcastle are in the market for the best prospects and Cherki is one. Like Desire Doue at Stade Rennais, the Magpies are keeping tabs but January might be too early and expensive.
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