Eddie Howe’s long-term future at Newcastle is in doubt as the club enters a period of uncertainty on and off the pitch.
The head coach met with chief executive David Hopkinson for lunch last week, when possible scenarios and strategies ahead of the summer were considered, depending on where the team finishes in the Premier League.
The reality of the club’s finances, amid Premier League and UEFA spending rules, means they will have to sell to buy if they miss out on the Champions League. They are currently 12th in the table.
For despite making the last-16 of the Champions League this season and selling Alexander Isak for a British record £125million last year, Daily Mail Sport understands Newcastle do not have the scope many expected to reinvest in the squad. They spent £250m on six players last summer.
In a shock development, the club have also sold the St James’ Park lease for £172.1m to a subsidiary company controlled by the ownership, although they say this will not increase spending power.
Rather, should they miss out on a top-five finish, and because of financial governance across domestic and European competitions, only a significant sale or sales, such as Sandro Tonali or Anthony Gordon, would free up funds for transfer outlay and wages.
Howe wants to stay at Newcastle and sees this close-season as a chance to rebuild, having reached the end of the cycle with a section of the squad. He is happy at the club, settled in the North East and retains the support of the hierarchy inside St James’.
However, if as is likely they are not playing Champions League football next season, the harsh reality is that star names would have to be sacrificed before a significant spend is sanctioned.
This has led to uncertainty over how the future looks for Howe and Newcastle, and he and the club will re-assess the situation at the end of the season. At present, there is no guarantee the most successful manager in Newcastle’s recent history will still be in position come August.
Speaking at the presentation of the club’s latest accounts, Hopkinson told reporters: ‘I don’t have a stance on (Eddie Howe’s) future. What I can tell you is that the derby loss (2-1 at home to Sunderland on March 22) hurt. We take it seriously. There’s nothing within us that thinks, “Well, it’s just three points and on we go”. It has resonated. I spent a couple of hours in a one-on-one lunch recently with Eddie and we talked through a multitude of things, including that.
‘Eddie’s our manager. I expect to have a great run to the end of the season here and we’ll talk about the future when it’s time. Right now, we’re focused on this season’s competition.’
Hopkinson added: ‘We are not looking to make a change at the moment. We are not having those conversations. We are still in the midst of the season.
‘Right now, we are focused on the seven matches we have remaining and not distracting ourselves with speculation about what we may or may not do in the summer. Right now, all of us have only got so much bandwidth and we are focused on this season and finishing strongly.’
