Inside Newcastle Q&A: Next England cap, Mitchell & Howe in ...

Once a week for an hour during the Premier League season, The Athletic’s Newcastle United subscribers can ask our writers covering the club for their views and insight into what’s happening at St James’ Park.

Here, we have pulled together some of their questions and our answers from Monday’s edition of our Inside Newcastle live Q&A, which included queries about Eddie Howe and Paul Mitchell’s ongoing relationship, whether there is money to spend during the January window, and if there are future England internationals within the squad.

Want to ask a question on anything Newcastle-related? Chris Waugh will be back on Monday, December 2, at 2pm GMT (9am ET) for another session, given that Newcastle host West Ham United next week.

Who do you think is next in line to get an England cap in the current squad? Loved seeing England field three of our players! — Dan C

Chris Waugh: It was wonderful to see three Newcastle players starting against the Republic of Ireland, two of them making their debuts during this international break in Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento, and Anthony Gordon getting his first England goal. Newcastle last had three players start an England match in 1997 and for the current trio to be at the start of their international careers, rather than the end, is extremely exciting.

In terms of who is next, Joe Willock seems destined to play for England. He is 25 and, but for injury, I am sure he would have been called up by now. I know England have a fair few deep-lying midfielders and loads of No 10s and wide forwards, but just as with Newcastle, I am not sure they have anyone with the characteristics Willock possesses. His ability to carry possession and his dynamism would improve any side, or at least give them an alternative, and he must be close to an England call-up. He has been tracked by the national set-up.

Sean Longstaff can also feel unfortunate that he has never been called up. He is still only 27, though, and if he continues his recent form, he has an outside chance of achieving England honours.

Slightly longer term, Lewis Miley is almost certainly a senior England international-in-waiting. His England Under-21 debut came as an 18-year-old against Spain this week and he is admired within St George’s Park. He has the potential to become a mainstay of the England side for years to come, just as Livramento, Hall and Gordon could be.

Do you think the club box clever with signings like they did with Lloyd Kelly (out-of-contract players) given significant areas of the squad will need a refresh? What concerns me is the age profile of the defence particularly — Tom C

Waugh: This is a constant source of debate internally because squad building given the PSR restrictions Newcastle face is far from straightforward. There is a recognition that the defence in particular is ageing — Kieran Trippier (34), Dan Burn (32), Emil Krafth (30), Jamaal Lascelles (30) and Fabian Schar (32) are 30 or older and succession planning is required. Sven Botman (24), Hall (20), Livramento (22) and Kelly (26) could feasibly remain long-term, but the wider defensive pool needs reducing in age.

That is one of Mitchell’s key tasks as sporting director, to reduce the average age of the squad, while also attempting to add depth and improve quality. It is extremely difficult to do that in such a competitive and expensive market. If Newcastle let all of those ageing players go, replacing them is far from straightforward. Kelly was an opportunistic signing, one which made sense financially, because there was no transfer fee and, although his wages are higher than Paul Dummett’s, he is an upgrade and is younger.

Tosin Adarabioyo would also have been an opportunistic signing, and may have prevented the failed pursuit of Marc Guehi, as he is a right-sided centre-half who turned 27 in September and was available on a free. But Chelsea pipped Newcastle to Tosin’s signature, and the after-effects have been felt since.

Going forward, some of the key words repeated inside Newcastle are that they must be “astute”, “shrewd”, “flexible” and “canny” in the transfer market. Further free transfers will play a role, but so too will signing younger players from overseas markets they have yet to really exploit. There is a risk to that but, in a world governed by the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR), Mitchell feels it is one they must take.

What is the relationship between Mitchell and Howe like now? — Dmitry K

Waugh: The camera zooming in at the boxing in Riyadh certainly looked awkward, given the positioning of the pair next to each other ringside and seemingly not in conversation while Darren Eales, the CEO, chatted away to Mitchell’s right. However, that is hardly representative of the entire training camp; the duo conversed in Saudi Arabia.

Eddie Howe & his Newcastle United players are in attendance for #LatinoNight ????#ZurdoBillamSmith | #RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/Txe5ebnH4I

— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) November 16, 2024

On a day-to-day level, the pair have been getting along fine. Mitchell has been keen not to interfere much, if at all, in Howe’s work on the training ground. He wants to show he trusts Howe to coach the players and so does not micromanage him. They do not necessarily have as close a relationship as Howe enjoyed with Dan Ashworth yet — although some revisionism has been applied to that, because they were hardly inseparable — but over the past few months it does not seem as if there has been a flaring-up of tensions.

The key test will be inside a transfer window, though, with January the next marker. The summer is set to be more informative, given Newcastle will likely do a greater amount of business during the off-season than in January, but it is during transfer windows that Mitchell and Howe’s contact ramps up.

Their first window together was largely considered to be a failure and they cannot afford a repeat of that.

Are you able to shed any light on what exactly we have to work with budget-wise in January? We seemed perfectly OK with throwing £70m for a single player last summer, but now we see reports claiming we’d have to sell again to buy — Nicholas R

Waugh: That is a complicated question which requires a complex answer. I will try to dilute it as much as I can.

Newcastle were never going to pay £70million ($88.6m) for Guehi. They were willing to pay in excess of £50m and possibly £60m — but that investment would have had ramifications. Given their ongoing PSR position, committing such a vast outlay would have required a significant sale, or multiple smaller sales, either in January and/or next summer.

At the time, Newcastle felt the benefits outweighed the costs in that scenario. In the long term, they believed Guehi was the centre-half who would improve them, and so any subsequent sales were worth it.

Theoretically, that could still be the case in January — be it for Guehi, another centre-back, a right-sided forward or a player in a different position. PSR remains a limiting factor in Newcastle’s transfer planning and it is why there is a chance they will opt against investing mid-season, when prices tend to be inflated, and instead wait until the summer.

Unless the “right players”, as those inside the club describe them as, are available for palatable (and financially workable) fees, Newcastle will not spend for the sake of it, as then their PSR position will only worsen and they will not be materially stronger for it.

We can see that a large sale can set clubs up for years (Aston Villa & Jack Grealish, Liverpool & Philippe Coutinho, Chelsea & Eden Hazard, West Ham & Declan Rice), it seems as if we are inevitably waiting for ours to come — who do you think this would be? — Jake B

Waugh: It does feel borderline inevitable that, at some stage, Newcastle will have to sell one of their stars. Historically, they have been poor sellers and, post-takeover, they have simply not recouped enough from player sales, resulting in the rush to bring in funds before June 30 and the Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh deals.

There are reasons behind that — primarily that Mike Ashley’s legacy was to leave behind an ageing squad which held little value, beyond the key players — but it is a fact which simply has to change.

For much of 2023, there was an expectation that Bruno Guimaraes would leave and, although nobody at Newcastle wanted that, had his £100m release clause been met, then they may have avoided June’s mad dash. It may have eased their PSR constraints for an extended period, but that did not happen, which is why Gordon became a nuclear option as a sale.

Realistically, Alexander Isak and Gordon are Newcastle’s most-saleable assets. Isak’s Premier League record and the dearth of top-quality strikers makes him immensely valuable, while Gordon’s consistency and end product make him one of the most sought-after wingers in Europe. Should Sven Botman return to top form quickly after his ACL injury, then he will also be prized, but Isak and Gordon can probably generate the largest profits.

Selling either would be unpalatable, but it may be necessary to fund a wider rebuild. What’s more, if Newcastle fail to qualify for the Champions League, or even worse no European competition at all for 2025-26, then Isak and/or Gordon may also feel they have outpaced the club’s development. For now, however, both are fully committed.

How will Newcastle play the upcoming Premier League vote on APT transactions, and if APT is significantly relaxed will we see huge sponsorship investment? — Thomas W

Waugh: Newcastle have been keen not to provide a commentary on the associated-party transaction (APT) case, or indeed to advertise their own position. They did present some evidence which supported Manchester City’s claim against the Premier League — Amanda Staveley, the former owner, was among those to appear in front of the panel — but they did not actively back it, despite the rules effectively being rushed through in response to Newcastle’s takeover in October 2021.

Regardless, it is in their interests if the rules are relaxed and there is greater scope for higher-value deals with PIF-owned companies. Newcastle already benefit from that relationship, given that Sela are their front-of-shirt sponsors and Noon are on their sleeves, but the club had to present alternative offers so they could prove “fair market value” for the current levels of those partnerships.

Going forward, theoretically, they could be inflated slightly, or a greater number of sponsorship arrangements could be agreed — beyond an airline partner in Saudia, perhaps they could also have a car partner or a even a lawnmower partner — and that would aid PSR.

But Newcastle have also been bringing in non-PIF-related deals, such as their partnership with Red Bull. The club have always insisted they are not looking to exploit the rules and massively inflate their own sponsorship deals to circumvent PSR regulations.

The Magpies landed in Riyadh! ????????✈️

Welcome @NUFC ???? pic.twitter.com/DKVRLjIDeT

— Saudia (@SaudiAirlinesEn) November 15, 2024

Thoughts on the Vinai Venkatesham rumours? — Jack C

Waugh: As an experienced CEO who was previously at Arsenal, and given his existing relationship with Peter Silverstone, Newcastle’s chief commercial officer, it makes sense. And his name has been floated.

However, as Eales travelling to Riyadh shows, he remains CEO and continues to serve his notice period. The process to source his successor, which has again involved an outside recruitment firm, is still ongoing and, while it would be curious if someone with Venkatesham’s experience did not feature, suggestions that he has already been identified as Newcastle’s ideal next chief executive appear premature.

Newcastle are casting their net wide: looking at CEOs who have worked within football, those who have worked in other sports, and even those who have never worked in the industry. As all PIF recruitment processes tend to be, it is a methodical one and the club will not rush into any decision.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the chairman, is expected to have the final say.

(Top photo: Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento before England’s match against Ireland; by Alex Pantling via Getty Images)