UEFA Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, according to Eddie Howe, will mean that at Newcastle United this summer, it will be a question of evolution rather than revolution.
On a regular basis, big names are connected with the Magpies, who are on the verge of securing their Premier League place for next season.
While high-profile names like Lille’s Sven Botman and Benfica’s Darwin Nunez continue to pique United’s attention, the summer will not be characterized by one or two “eye-catching” deals.
United and Howe, according to an international news website, will focus their summer business in the same way they did in January, aiming for a general leveling up of the squad’s quality in a number of crucial positions.
The club’s summer window objectives are said to be the striker department and finding top-level competition for Chris Wood and Callum Wilson.
Any mention of January budgets, on the other hand, is way off the mark.
“While conceding that time never stands still,” head coach Howe added, “I am satisfied with this squad.”
“You have to keep improving and evolving, so I have no difficulty looking outward and stating that some things are required, but I don’t believe it will be the revolution that everyone expects. It can’t be because of our budgetary constraints”.
“It’s not just a case of signing anyone, and that’s never how I work because every individual must fit into the team’s framework and improve the team, not just be a really excellent individual.”
“That is critical to our long-term success. So, for all of those reasons, I don’t believe there will ever be any wholesale adjustments.”
According to Howe, UEFA’s financial fair play rules are expected to limit the Magpies’ spending power this summer.
UEFA created the Financial Fair Play (FFP) system in 2009 to prevent teams from spending more than they make and to safeguard their long-term viability.
The rules, though, allow teams to lose up to £105 million during a three-year period.
FFP is at the forefront of the Newcastle owners’ minds, with no new revenue streams acquired or revealed since the takeover, with the salary bill constantly increasing due to the big winter window trading.
“In terms of media perception,” Howe said, “that doesn’t help.”
“However, in the Premier League, financial fair play is now fully implemented, therefore you must conform to those structures.”
“Like every other club, we’ll fall in line. Certainly, perception is one thing, but the reality is quite another, so we’ll have to be extremely careful about what we do.”
On Sunday, Howe’s United face Leicester City, who are coming off a morale-boosting, albeit physically and mentally draining, Europa League quarterfinal tie win over PSV Eindhoven.
By the time Brendan Rodgers’ team arrives on Tyneside this weekend, they will have done very little in terms of training and recovery.
However, Howe, who just went through a similarly arduous Premier League fixture list, does not believe that will have much of an impact on the game.
“We’ve been in situations like this before, where teams have traveled to Europe to play. And in my experience, it doesn’t seem to have much of an impact on the game,” he remarked.
“They have a squad that can deal with it; they have a really solid group.”
“Their roster appears to be much stronger now that some long-term injuries have returned. They have a manager with a lot of experience as well.”
“In my experience, it hasn’t altered the games, so we expect a full-strength Leicester”, he added.
With a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers last Saturday, United put an end to their own mini-crisis in the Premier League.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak, which followed a nine-game winning streak in which the Magpies went from deep in the relegation zone to 10 points clear of the drop zone.
“Obviously, there’s been a significant boost for the guys,” Howe said of the win’s impact.
“No one wanted to see that run continue, and despite the fact that it had been a nice run, we knew we had to answer, especially in front of our own fans.”
