Eddie Howe is growing increasingly concerned with events at Premier League outfit Newcastle United with the Football Association keeping a very close eye on his situation as they mull over their England manager options.
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HITC understands that, despite the availability of the likes of Graham Potter, within the corridors of power at the FA the feeling is that Gareth Southgate’s successor will come from one of two leading candidates.
Either Lee Carsley – who won both of his Nations League fixtures 2-0 in interim charge this month – gets the job on a full-time basis after guiding the Under 21s to European Championship glory.
Or, instead, Gareth Southgate’s place is taken by an outside hire in the shape of Eddie Howe.
The FA chiefs are big fans of the Newcastle United boss. After famously taking Bournemouth from the fourth tier to the Premier League, Howe has further enhanced his reputation during three impressive years on Tyneside.
He led Newcastle to a Wembley final and also the Champions League group-stages for the first time in two decades.
And with suggestions of a ‘civil war’ breaking out behind the scenes at St James’ Park, the sudden uncertainty over Howe’s future on Tyneside has not gone unnoticed amongst the national team bosses.
Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United future uncertain
HITC have been told that, while Howe is still happy with The Magpies, he is very concerned about recent developments with new sporting director Paul Mitchell.
Brought in as a replacement for Dan Ashworth, former Tottenham, Southampton, Monaco and RB Leipzig talentspotter Mitchell endured a massively frustrating first summer at the helm.
He failed to land many of his top targets, Newcastle suffering the indignity of chasing Marc Guehi for weeks – and making a series of £60 million-plus bids in the process, only to suffer a very public rebuttal from Crystal Palace.
Mitchell, HITC understands, has no plans to leave his post at present however.
Howe, meanwhile, was frustrated that Newcastle had to sell rising stars Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh to deal with their Profit and Sustainability issues. The former has impressed already at Nottingham Forest, while the latter looks to be a revelation with Brighton.
The one-time Burnley boss was also far from happy to hear Mitchell seemingly lay the blame for Newcastle’s issues at the door of the previous recruitment team, and Howe himself.
“Should our scouting and recruitment be driven more extensively with a wider reaching net? It definitely should be because this is becoming a really nuanced space now,” Mitchell said at the start of September, via The Athletic.
“You can’t just capital fund everything every year and buy loads of players at peak age and peak price.
“Was, let’s say, the scouting network, the lengths and breadths of our process and our strategies, including the influence of Eddie Howe, bigger and broader enough? Probably not. And that’s the bit we analyse to be better. That’s the bit we have to adjust and modernise.”
England watching closely amid ‘civil war’ rumours
Howe, in his pre-Wolves press conference on Friday, played down reports of a rift.
Though, tellingly, he did then hit back at Mitchell’s claims, pointing out that the signings Newcastle made early in his reign not only helped save the club from relegation but also propelled them to a top-four finish at year later.
“I’m very, very proud of every single player that we signed in that period,” Howe said, via talkSPORT, referring to the likes of Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier, ageing now but outstanding upon their arrival.
“It is very easy to look back at any transfer window and make a judgement on the players you have signed three years down the line.
“You have to go back to the situation when we were in those moments, in the relegation zone and trying to recruit players. That is not an easy thing to do. You’re also recruiting not just for the short term, but for the long term.
“When you look back, that work was good. Our objective was to stay in the league, so I’m not going to critique every signing, but I’m very, very proud of the body of work that we did and the players that we have now from the legacy of those transfer windows.
“We love them to bits. So I think it’s about when you’re in that moment and the decisions that you made. I think everyone can hold their heads up very high.”
Understandably, given the FA’s admiration for Howe, the situation between he and Mitchell at Newcastle United will be monitored very closely over the coming weeks and months.
The post Exclusive: Eddie Howe very concerned by events at Newcastle, FA watching as 'civil war' breaks out appeared first on HITC.
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