‘Blood in the water’ - Eddie Howe labelled a ‘fool’ as under-fire Newcastle United CEO backed

Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan has questioned Eddie Howe for identifying Marc Guehi as the only centre-back target.

Toon chiefs failed four times to land the Palace defender, who starred for England at Euro 2024. The saga rumbled for the final month of the transfer window and, when the deal reached a blockade, ultimately left the Magpies empty-handed.

Reports suggested Howe named Guehi as his No.1 option and new sporting director Paul Mitchell was confident in delivering that. Ex-Palace supremo Jordan ripped into Howe while throwing support behind under-fire Toon CEO Darren Eales.

Geordie Journos on ShotsTV! Reflection on Spurs win & Darren Eales after disappointing window

“He (Howe) identified a player they weren’t able to achieve,” he said. “So maybe you should have identified a few more players and been a bit more hands-on in that respect.

“Because if you can’t get Guehi out of Palace because Palace are not a willing seller, you are a fool if that’s the only target you wanted. I don’t see how he (Howe) could’ve been more hands-on. He can identify his targets and clearly he did. 

“We’re talking about competent, inherently well-versed football operators. Not Amanda Staveley, who came in and brought people in (PIF) who had money. Darren Eales is a very, very well-versed football operator both here and in America. He knows his way around. His capabilities are not insignificant.”

Jordan also insisted Newcastle should have known to walk away once the Eagles sold Joachim Andersen to Fulham in the closing stages of the window. He added: “The problem for Newcastle is they can’t spend what they want, which is inherently unfair. A club under new ownership should have a bit of latitude so it can build up and challenge the status quo.

“It should have been evident early in the transaction that they were going to get nothing from Crystal Palace other than having to wrench it from their cold, dead hand. The moment Palace sold Joachim Anderson I would have felt that there was blood in the water. They weren’t going to get him.”