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GATESHEAD: Eddie Howe has revealed his transfer “frustrations” and admits Newcastle United might have to “get creative” in order to deliver a squad capable of competing on four fronts.
So far this summer, the Magpies have signed just one senior, first-team-ready player, Sandro Tonali, and are looking to add at least another two or three to the ranks before the summer trading window slams shut on Sept. 1.
While Howe has previously admitted his delight at landing Champions League-ready Tonali from AC Milan, he has expressed his squad’s “need” for additions, rather than a managerial want. And Howe has challenged owners PIF to find a way of improving his black and white lot.
Speaking after the Magpies’ 3-2 friendly win over near neighbors Gateshead, Howe said: “I’m patient and understand the parameters we’re working in but I also know the needs we have. For me it’s not a case of we want to do it; we need to do it. And being a coach I want them on the grass available now, so all of those things together.
“I can share that we want to bring players into the football club but they have to be the right ones and they have to be at the right level. We’re working hard to do that. We’ve been working hard all summer. It’s difficult to get good players, as it is with any club, but we’ll keep going.”
Squad depth is going to be key for Howe and Newcastle — and looking at the players at their disposal in Gateshead, it is easy to see why the head coach is keen to add. And for the first time as a United manager, he’s admitted to feeling frustrated with the transfer landscape, with no further deals close.
Howe said: “It’s huge for us this year. With the competitions that we’re in, having three games a week we need to be able to rotate the team but to be able to bring in players who are of equal standard.
“That’s what we’re looking to do but we know we have a lot of work to do to do that. Players are expensive these days. We’re working within FFP guidelines which is very difficult for us. We might need to be creative, but we’re trying to look at every avenue we can to make the club stronger.
“We have a very strict budget that we’re trying to work within. Always with FFP, there are certain things you can be creative on but we don’t have a huge budget to work with.
“At times there have been frustrations and difficult days. You want the end result and the best squad you can. We know the challenges that we face. Through the summer I’ve been through all the emotions. I’m very pleased to get Sandro in but we know we need more.”
While it feels like dark clouds are brewing for Howe and his transfer committee off the pitch, it was not that much better on it as the Magpies returned to action.
Thunder and lightning ripped through the Gateshead International Stadium on a stormy afternoon on Tyneside, but the Magpies narrowly avoided a shock to the system, as they overturned a two-goal, halftime deficit to win out 3-2.
Marcus Dinanga and Stephen Wearne fired Gateshead, colloquially known as Heed by their Geordie followers, into a 2-0 lead, before a second half salvo from Elliot Anderson, Allan Saint-Maximin and youngster Jay Turner-Cooke saw Howe’s Magpies claim victory.
Howe was without six first team players, excluding the Magpies’ international contingent, for the short trip across the River Tyne, with Nick Pope, Joe Willock, Emil Krafth, Jamaal Lascelles, Jacob Murphy and Paul Dummett all left out.
It was the same old system — the fluid 4-3-3 — for Howe but some unusual positions, with the likes of lesser-spotted Jamal Lewis playing left wing, youngster Remi Savage given a debut and skipper Kieran Trippier sent to midfield.
This one looked to be a walk in the park for Newcastle in the early stages against their National League, which is England’s fifth tier, opposition.
Sean Longstaff, Matt Ritchie and Lewis all had gilt-edged opportunities to open the scoring, but squandered opportunities to net. Twelve minutes of dominance was then broken when an error on the edge of the area opened the door for Dinanga to slot past Karl Darlow for 1-0.
After a flashy, fast-opening 15, the game quickly drained of intensity and snap, but that did not stop Gateshead pressing home their advantage moments before the break as Wearne jumped on a Dan Burn error to double the lead.
It was far from a smooth first 45 back after a truncated summer for Howe’s men.
A little second-half rejig saw Saint-Maximin put out to the left and Anderson dropped into a central striking role. It was a move that paid dividends within four minutes as the Frenchman teed up the Geordie to reduce the arrears.
And just before the hour mark, Anderson returned the favor by laying one on a plate for Saint-Maximin, who tucked the equalizer into an empty net after another defensive error in increasingly challenging conditions.
A raft of changes for both sides again saw the game lose its spark, with United’s XI, bar for Loris Karius and Burn, having a very under-21s feel.
And it was that youth that won through on the day as Lewis Miley’s smart feet opened up space in the middle and a deft ball into the area was volleyed home by Turner-Cooke for a 3-2 victory.
On the performance itself, Howe added: “It was a really good preseason game. You want to win, of course, and play well, but that was a really good challenge for us. Gateshead were very good, which was no surprise. We were a bit rusty. The players had a really hard week so we were a bit leggy in that first half, but the character was good and it was important we came back and showed the real us.”