It is a dilemma that sums up Newcastle United’s current predicament.
In the midst of a increasingly dire defensive injury crisis, serious thought is being given to exercising a recall clause in Matt Targett’s season-long loan at Middlesbrough. In the final year of his contract and at the age of 30, he clearly does not represent the future of a club that has aspirations to join the global elite.
But after progressing to the Carabao Cup semi-finals, Newcastle now face 10 games in 32 days after their trip to Burnley and Eddie Howe, down to just three fit senior defenders on Wednesday, is running out of options.
Even as the club finalise wishlists at both right-back and left-back – positions they hope to reinforce over the course of the January transfer window – the Targett recall feels more likely than not for a club that finds themselves at a crossroads when it comes to recruitment.
There is money to spend, insiders suggesting it might be as much as £50m on a single player after amortisation. While January is a difficult month to do business there’s also an acceptance that the season needs an injection of impetus. But, bruised by successive windows of stalled progress, there’s as much trepidation as there is anticipation about transfers these days.
It wasn’t always like this at St James’ Park. Four years ago it was clear what the plan was as they embarked on a trolley dash to stave off relegation. A mix of senior, seasoned players like Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn and Chris Wood were joined by Bruno Guimaraes. Howe was happy and the squad was massively upgraded.
But in 2026, what is their transfer policy? Director of football Ross Wilson talked earlier this month of January business fitting into a “bigger plan” but it says much about the muddled thinking of the last 18 months that few know what that looks like.
Having lurched from Paul Mitchell’s proposed recruitment revolution back to Howe’s preference for tried and trusted, Newcastle surely need to find a third way. We have heard talk of the club belatedly embracing data – and there is work going on behind-the-scenes on that – but the crunch will come in January. How much willingness from the manager is there to push the button on left-field signings?
Really they have little choice. Financial fair play dictates that Newcastle cannot afford to pay over the odds as they did in the summer and owners PIF are unlikely to sanction more “special cases” like Yoane Wissa, bought for £55m despite being way outside the club’s desired age profile.
There was justified criticism of the ownership in the summer for taking too long to make executive appointments that could have led from the front in such a crucial off-season. But Jamie Carragher’s assertion over the weekend that Howe was “let down” seems like it misses the mark. Off the back of a his stellar work last season, Howe’s judgement was certainly backed.
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But the underwhelming start that Anthony Elanga and Jacob Ramsey have made mean the optics of going back to the Premier League market would be bad. One insider has spoken of Newcastle becoming a “head coach-led club” and given Howe’s ability, that might not be a bad thing. But there have to be competing voices on transfers, new names and a freshness about their approach.
The early signs with Wilson seem positive. The active pursuit of AZ Alkmaar midfielder Kees Smit – a transfer “unicorn” who ticks the boxes of having the potential to make an impact right now while also having a high ceiling and room to improve – bodes well.
The word is they are pivoting to new markets where Premier League rivals have had success and that data has been part of the conversation when compiling long lists. It feels like there’s a unity of purpose at the moment.
But it is going to be a difficult task to pull off. Talk of Howe being under pressure is laughable – he has far too much talent and credit in the bank for that – but Howe needs to regain Premier League momentum and the anguish of Sunday’s derby defeat has frayed patience on Tyneside. His short-term needs are for the Targetts of this world, not long-term targets. And that makes January the most important transfer window of the PIF era.
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