NEWCASTLE: Eddie Howe has assured fans there is an urgency at Newcastle United to act, and do so quickly, in the January transfer window.
Howe has revealed work on securing targets has been ongoing for much of December with Atletico Madrid full-back Kieran Trippier and Lille’s Sven Botman top of the list of priorities.
And while there is an acceptance at St James’ Park that United do not have time on their side — and waiting out the window to sign late could prove counterproductive — Howe knows Newcastle may not have it all their own way, despite having the riches and expertise of majority shareholders, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, behind them.
“From our perspective, we know we are in a hurry,” Howe said. “We need to utilize every day that we have.”
“We are not sat back thinking we have all the time in the world — every day matters,” he said. ”Saying that, we don’t control a lot of these matters. Often the players, clubs, agents control these matters and the speed of things.”
“We are well aware of what we need to do but doing it is a whole different matter.”
Ahead of the club’s final two matches of the year, including the penultimate one against Manchester United tomorrow, Newcastle have been linked with dozens of players just in the last few weeks of the calendar year.
The United head coach has warned previously the media risked unsettling his players with such speculation — something he could do without in a Premier League relegation battle.
Howe does think there is a common sense way of dealing with the speculation, though.
He said: “I have probably seen 1 percent of it. I don’t follow it all.
“I’d like to think the players, because there is so much speculation, don’t give it that much credibility. If I was them, that would be my thought process,” Howe said. “If we were to sign every player we’ve been linked with we’d have a squad of about 1,000 players, so I think there has to be some kind of realism.”
“Players just need to concentrate on their own career and their own future, the rest takes care of itself.”
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