'Transfers not Howe's fault' - Raisbeck

Newcastle's transfer business should not be held against Eddie Howe, says BBC Radio Newcastle's Matthew Raisbeck.

The Magpies are coming to terms with the sales of Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon this summer, 12 months on from a tricky transfer window before the 2025-26 campaign.

On BBC Radio Newcastle, one fan wrote in to state: "It's very difficult to sell the club if you're selling your best players. Gordon's gone, Tonali's gone, there's speculation around Bruno. They're your three best players. If you were selling them and you're trying to bring other players into the football club and they see that, they think hang on a minute what direction are you going in? You expect me to come?"

Raisbeck considered the fan's view and said: "I think they've got good money for Tonali and Gordon and those two leaving, certainly Gordon, was always factored in. It was always the expectation that would happen which gives them greater scope to reinvest the money and they have spent some so far and shown a willingness to spend more on Manzambi.

"It's not Eddie Howe's fault that players are not coming. He doesn't lead negotiations. Although he gets a lot of criticism, and I think he understands why, based on last season, he has a proven track record at Newcastle and Bournemouth and probably at Burnley as well, although he was only there for 18 months, of improving individual players.

"Look at the Newcastle players he inherited, some are still there, and some who have come in and moved on. He has made them better players. I think that's an attraction for young players because he has improved so many.

"When you look at a shift in recruitment, maybe he is the right sort of manager because he can get a lot out of players, he can make them better. Along with the coaching staff he's shown that."

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