Eddie Howe makes £130m Newcastle United transfer admission as fifth deal close

Newcastle United will only know if this summer’s transfer business has been a success ‘one or two years down the line’, according to head coach Eddie Howe.

The Magpies have spent around £130million on signing Yankuba Minteh - who was immediately loaned to Dutch champions Feyenoord - Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento, while the imminent arrival of Lewis Hall from Chelsea on a loan with a £28m obligation to buy next summer is set to conclude United’s summer recruitment.

Asked by NewcastleWorld if the window has been a success, Howe said: "It’s very difficult to make a sweeping statement on the window because I think you give an opinion at that point when you might feel differently a year after.

“I always think when you sign players everyone will go ‘oh what a great signing’ and they haven’t even seen him play yet. Time will always be the deciding factor in how good your recruitment has been.

“When you look back historically on some of our signings at this point - I’ll even go back to my Bournemouth days, there were some players that I’d sign and make an instant decision and go ‘he was a poor signing’ but two years later they are seen as a very good signing.

“As I feel now, I think it’s been a good window but really it’s one or two years down the line that you give a true assessment."

While Newcastle won’t see Minteh in a black and white shirt until next season at the earliest, Howe knows the signings of Tonali, Barnes, Livramento and Hall will add greater depth to his squad, which will face the challenge of competing in the Premier League, Champions League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup.

“Yeah, I feel we’re getting there,” Howe said when asked if he felt he had strength in depth. “This season we won’t feel the real effects of the games until September-October-November-December, they’re probably going to be the key months for us.

“I think it will surprise some of the players how intense and physically demanding that’s going to be, so we’re going to need the depth 100% and we’re going to need to keep as many players as we can fit and injury-free as possible. This is going to be a real test of our resources.

“That’s why I feel we need the strength in depth and the strongest squad possible - and I feel we’re getting there"

Howe is building a squad, not just for this season but for the coming years too.

“There is always a part of me that looks for the here and now but we also need to be mindful of the future to make sure we prepare Newcastle as good as we can for the next two, three, four or five years.

“It’s always about a mixture and getting the right balance in the squad. You need some really good experienced players, you need players supposedly in their prime years and then you need the emerging players who are snapping at the heels of everybody desperate to play. At the moment, we have a really good mix.”