Eddie Howe insists that Newcastle United's January transfer plans have not been affected by Liverpool stealing a march on their rivals by swooping for Cody Gakpo.
The Magpies had scouted Gakpo previously but it was the Reds who acted decisively, wrapping up the PSV Eindhoven forward on a five-and-a-half-year deal for an initial £37million before the transfer window has even opened.
Howe will be looking to put Newcastle's new-found wealth to good use next month, as the Toon Army continue to push for Champions League qualification, but when quizzed on his Merseyside rival's clinical transfer action, he remained unruffled, while at the same time accepting that the New Year is not the ideal time to get business done.
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Speaking in his pre-match press conference head of Newcastle's match against Leeds United at St James' Park on Saturday, Howe said: "They’ve [ Liverpool ] acted and signed a top player. Good for them but it doesn’t impact anything from our perspective.
"We know that people will move in the market, it’ll be interesting to see how January unfolds for a lot of teams this year and see how fluid the market is. Certainly, last year we signed some very good players but we found it a difficult market to manoeuvre in. It’s not an ideal time to do too much business."
Under new Saudi ownership and Howe's management, Newcastle have rapidly climbed the Premier League table this season and are currently third, having lost only once this season. It leaves Liverpool playing catch-up after their indifferent start to the current campaign and that dynamic makes Howe believe it will be difficult to secure the right players to improve his squad further before the end of the season.
He added: "If you’re looking to improve the team, the starting XI as it is if we have no injuries, then that is a challenge in the market currently. Again, with an unlimited budget, that might be possible. Not that we necessarily have a budget at the moment, but with Financial Fair Play looming and with those restrictions, it’s almost impossible. Then you’re looking at the squad and can you improve the squad?
"Now that’s a different question. Anything we do in January then potentially harms us for the summer. So there is always another window coming up and what you don’t want to do is handcuff yourself for future windows. So there’s a lot to consider."
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