Newcastle United's recent recruitment has been "absolutely awful", claims the club's former central defender Steve Howey.

In the past few summers, the Magpies have brought in the likes of Joelinton, Ryan Fraser and Yoshinori Muto, all of whom have struggled.

Muto spent last season out on loan after struggling to find regular minutes at St. James' Park, Fraser has found himself in and out of the side and Joelinton has simply not lived up to his £40m price tag.

In the Brazilian's debut Premier League campaign, he scored just twice in 38 games, though he did manage to double that last term. But all in all, not good enough for Howey.

"One of my biggest criticisms is the recruitment," the ex-Newcastle player exclusively told TT. "The recruitment has been absolutely awful.

"I don't know who the head of recruitment is to be quite honest, but obviously they need a big sit down with Steve [Bruce] and the rest of the staff, identify the players and do the checks on them to make sure that the limited money that we've got, we spend wisely."

It is certainly something to think about for Newcastle, whose recent transfer activity has not been a complete disaster.

They have been able to bring in individuals such as Allan Saint-Maximin, the best dribbler in the side last season, per WhoScored, and Joe Willock, the club's highest goalscorer after Callum Wilson.