Newcastle United transfer news: NUFC in three-horse ‘race’ for France international, Howe ‘stepping up’ interest in £25m PL star

Howe’s tired side was beaten by a 99th-minute goal from Everton’s Alex Iwobi on Thursday night.

The club’s squad left for a training camp in Dubai the following day, and Howe believes the break has come at a good time for his players, who climbed out of the bottom three during a nine-game unbeaten run.

Newcastle don’t play again until April 3, when they travel to Tottenham Hotspur.

“We probably need the break, a lot of tired bodies, mental fatigue as well,” said United’s head coach. “Not to complain, but it can mentally fatigue you, I think. In the second half, I felt we didn’t play with that freshness which we have in recent months, and I think that’s a warning sign for us.”

The trip to the United Arab Emirates follows a similar training camp in Saudi Arabia in late January.

“The game’s don’t get any easier for us – we’ve got some difficult fixtures,” Howe told BBC Radio Newcastle. “We now go to Tottenham, which is a very difficult game, as we know, and we need to use the break wisely.

“We need to come back united in another push to get some more points. This is the Premier League – it’s so unforgiving.

“This time of year, if we were staying here, we’d give the players some free time to recharge. We’re trying to use it for the benefit of the team to stay together and train. Hopefully, we’ll see the benefits of that.”

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