Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Chronicle Live
Chronicle Live
Sport
Lee Ryder

'The club means business again', The exciting plans for Newcastle in 2022 as scouts crank up talent search

Newcastle United are determined to hit the ground running when the summer window opens and organisation for the next trading period is already well under way.

Chronicle Live understands that United's recruitment team - currently headed by Steve Nickson - are now putting together a long list for the next window.

And while Newcastle's divisional status is unclear, Nickson and his team are looking to finalise a list of players that cover bases for all eventualities.

Go here for all the latest Newcastle United news

The Magpies' January shake-up resulted in three players, Ciaran Clark, Isaac Hayden and Jamal Lewis, all omitted from the 25-man Premier League squad but with players being looked at in every position between now and the summer, a hectic summer is expected on Tyneside.

Both Seville's Diego Carlos and Lille's Sven Botman remain targets while there is still interest in sought after soon to be free transfer Jesse Lingard.

But after Carlos and Botman's clubs turned down moves Newcastle won't waste too much time in the summer and will quickly move on to others if they can't get persuade them to switch to what was sold to them as one of the most ambitious clubs in the world only last month.

Of course, the nagging doubt for all targets is whether Newcastle will remain a Premier League force or not but after an improvement in results following January's transfer drive, there is genuine optimism down the corridors of power at St James' Park.

Eddie Howe and his backroom team have been told to focus on nothing but results in the last 16 games with the head coach happy to have no distractions between now and the end of the campaign.

Yet on Newcastle's executive level at St James' Park, the new consortium are working tirelessly to ensure United never get in this uncertain situation ever again in the top-flight.

One source said: "The January window has shown fans that they can be ambitious about their club with the arrival of Bruno Guimarães especially proving the club means business again after landing one of the world's top players."

The Bruno signing could end up being a club record but Newcastle also want to box clever in future transfer windows.

Emphasis has been placed on contract statuses of players with intelligence on minimum fee release clauses and relegation escape clauses on targets carefully factored in.

This is down to the lessons learned in the last window when United found that prices were hiked up the moment Newcastle emerged as genuine bidders.

United chiefs are expected to appoint Dan Ashworth as technical director once Brighton release him fully from his current contract with the former England supremo on gardening leave.

Ashworth is deemed as the best in his trade in the Premier League by United's new owners and Amanda Staveley and co are excited about the prospect of working with him.

However, they want sturdy foundations already in place for his arrival and as supporters snap up memberships at the club again and enquire about season tickets there is a real buzz around St James' again.

For the latest Newcastle news direct to your inbox, go here to sign up to our free newsletter

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.