Newcastle United's stance on January loan signings as Eddie Howe responds to 'frustrating' transfer link

Eddie Howe has denied that Newcastle United have enquired about AFC Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke. And the Magpies boss admits the club can't afford to sign him this month as they comply with Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules.

Howe signed Solanke at Bournemouth from Liverpool in 2019 for £19million. His price tag, however, has reportedly trebled this campaign with his 12 goals putting him third in the Premier League goalscoring charts.

While Howe claimed to "love" Solanke, he quickly shut down talk of a possible reunion at St James' Park. He said: "Yes, a frustrating story for me because, yes I love Dominic Solanke, I signed him and I rate him very, very highly. But we have not made an enquiry for him and we don't have the ability to sign a player of that level."

Not just Solanke but Howe has played down the prospect of making any new signings this month.

Addressing the Financial Fair Play situation, Howe said: “It’s a frustration for everyone connected with us. The owners are very ambitious and that’d like to help and improve the squad at every opportunity they can but the rules and conditions we’re under don’t allow that. I don’t know what to say in regards to that, that’s just how it is and we’re acting in the way that we can."

Could the loan market be an avenue for United, then? With 10 senior players currently unavailable, including midfielders Joelinton, Joe Willock, Elliot Anderson and Sandro Tonali, Howe is keen to bolster that area and has shown an interest in Manchester City's Kalvin Phillips.

But as Howe alluded to, there aren't many teams willing to do Newcastle a favour.

"I think there's a lot of value [in the loan market]," said Howe. "Whether it's value that we can utilise is something totally different. I'm not sure there's many clubs out there that are willing to help us currently. To agree a loan deal, you need the club to agree to that deal so we're in that moment where I'm not sure we have many friends in the market.

"We're not shutting the door on everything. But certainly, as I sit here now, no we're not going to bring anyone in. But that may change as the window unfolds."