'Staleness' - Eddie Howe fires Newcastle United transfer warning after £68m Premier League agreement

Newcastle have failed to strengthen their starting line-up in each of the last two transfer windows having been limited by Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules. With less than a month until the January transfer window and his side struggling for consistency in the Premier League, Howe was asked whether his squad needs a ‘fresh face’ in the new year.

“I think there is a desire from everyone at the club to deliver that,” he said. “But then you have to go to the realities of what is possible. You have to make decisions for the here and now, but also for the future.

“We have to make sure we don’t put ourselves in a position where the summer becomes very, very difficult to do what we need to do, or future windows beyond.

“I think freshness is important in a squad, I won’t sit here and deny that. There needs to be a certain element of trading in and out to keep the group dynamic new.

“A new dynamic and a new team always has to form every season. Sometimes, the same squad can produce a staleness and a negative product. So I think we’re aware of that. But it’s about what we’re able to do rather than, “I want”. “I want” is clear. It’s what we’re able to do that is the key thing.”

Newcastle attempted to break their transfer record and sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace in the summer for around £70million but were unable to convince The Eagles to part ways with the England international. Interest remains in Guehi but with Newcastle among the lowest-scoring sides in the Premier League this season, strengthening further up the pitch is a more pressing concern.

When asked to expand on his claim of potential ‘staleness’ in the squad, Howe added: “We haven't had a huge turnover of players and that's a slight concern but if you bring too many players in, that can have a negative impact in terms of upheaval of the team and relationships are not forming and vice-versa the other way.

“You can keep that staleness away in various ways: innovation from us in terms of the team, training, loads of team-building stuff and different things you can do to make sure the players are not coming into the same environment.”

Newcastle sold Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson early in the summer transfer window for a combined fee of £68million, helping the club satisfy PSR and unlock some spending power.

“Of course there was a want from us to [sign players],” Howe added. “Especially in the summer, where we saw a couple of players that we felt could have made a difference in different positions but it didn’t happen and the other side is we lost - although we never had Yankuba Minteh - we lost with him and Elliot, two key players for us, so it’s not just the lack of incomings it’s losing two talented young guys as well.

“That goes with the territory and we just have to adapt and make the best of the situation and I still believe in the squad we have.“The squad we have is a very good squad and it is our job to do better with it.”