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Keith Downie has insisted that one of Eddie Howe’s main aims is to land a new midfielder this month for Newcastle United.
The Lowdown: New midfielder still on the agenda
A lot of talk on Tyneside and within the local media has been on Newcastle’s lack of attacking options amid the departure of Chris Wood and a third 0-0 draw in four Premier League games.
However, Downie believes that Howe isn’t focusing solely on improving his attacking department with one eye still seemingly being kept on his equally thin midfield area given Jonjo Shelvey’s injury.
Newcastle’s injury woes have eased over the last few days or so as Bruno Guimaraes returned earlier than expected from the ankle injury that forced him off against Fulham, while Elliot Anderson returned to the bench against Crystal Palace.
The Latest: Howe looking for improvement throughout his squad
Downie has claimed live on Sky Sports that Howe is keen to bring in a new midfielder this month, as he has been all January, amid links to players such as Moises Caicedo and Youri Tielemans.
He said: “He was always looking for a central midfielder, I’ve been saying that throughout this whole window, and he still is looking in that position.”
The Verdict: Newcastle keen to improve from a position of strength
We think it would be wise from PIF to hand Eddie Howe at least a new midfielder and attacker to ensure his squad is strong enough for what will be an extremely important second half of the season.
If Newcastle are able to finish inside the top four this season, that will only accelerate PIF’s ambitious plans for Newcastle, which include winning the league within 10 years. You could argue this would be more attainable if a Champions League spot was secured this term as they look to improve the squad in the coming seasons.
However, it’s been made clear by Howe that neither he nor the club will spend recklessly this month and leave themselves handcuffed in the summer when better value-for-money deals could be secured, so it’s certainly a fine balancing act the club have on their hands.
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