The Newcastle United transfer Eddie Howe can't sanction as Paul Mitchell spotted ahead of huge week

The 1-1 draw at AFC Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon was arguably a fair result, though the home side were understandable miffed when Dango Ouattara’s winner was ruled out for a handall deep into stoppage time.

By the letter of the law, it was the correct decision but there’s no denying it was soft. Even Magpies’ boss Eddie Howe was left surprised by VAR’s intervention, although it was more than welcomed. Here’s a look at our writer Jordan Cronin’s key talking points from the Bournemouth draw:

Two changes & Martin Dubravka absence explain

Howe made two changes from the opening day win over Southampton with Emil Krafth coming in for the suspended Fabian Schar, while Lloyd Kelly was preferred ahead of Lewis Hall at left-back as he made his full debut against his former club.

Although Krafth was sometimes hesitant on the ball, he performed relatively well alongside Dan Burn. Kelly will have benefitted from his 70 minutes on the pitch, although was given a tough time by former teammate Antoine Semenyo.

Reflecting on Kelly’s debut, Howe said: “It was good for Lloyd to play, I was really pleased to give him his debut. In part, that was why we played Lloyd, he gave us extra height and speed against Bournemouth’s quick players.

“But I was pleased with Lewis Hall’s contribution when he came on so I think that shows we have two top-quality players in that position and then you add Matt Targett as well. It’s that strength in depth this year for sure.” 

On the bench, well, the goalkeeping situation got even more confusing.

John Ruddy replaced Dubravka on the bench after the Slovakian sustained a concussion in training. Summer signing Odysseas Vlachodimos, who Newcastle signed for undisclosed fee from Nottingham Forest, was left out of the squad for the second week running.

It seems the Greek goalkeeper is further down the pecking order than expected and an exit before Friday’s transfer deadline can’t be ruled out.

Two subs - both with different motivations

With United struggling to regain a foothold in the game, Howe turned to his bench on the hour-mark and made a double substitution.

One player, Harvey Barnes, had a point to prove while the other, Kieran Trippier, reminded people why they should think twice about writing him off. Bizarrely, some already have.

Barnes can count himself unfortunate at being on the bench for the first two matches, despite playing more minutes in pre-season than Anthony Gordon. Tino Livramento has got the nod ahead of Tripper because of that exact reason, although that thought process doesn’t seem to apply to Gordon, who, to be fair, was last season’s Player of the Year.

But it gives Barnes every right to feel frustrated and to his credit, the 26-year-old responded in the best way possible with his introduction helping spark the Magpies back into life. An extremely positive cameo was capped off by a pin-point cross that Gordon directed home for the equaliser.

Now, there’s been plenty of noises around Trippier’s future this week, and a lot of supporters seem unbothered by the prospect of him leaving. Surely his impact on the South Coast served as a reminder to those doubting him?

Howe summed it up best: “You could see his experience and technical quality which I know I talk about a lot but there are very few full backs with his ball-playing and crossing delivery.

“He really helped us today, calmed things down and used his experience and brought a renewed threat with Anthony down our right side. I love Kieran as a footballer, I always have. I’ve managed him twice, which I’ve been very lucky to do and I’m desperate to keep him.” 

Livramento is very good but still has a lot to learn, and for that reason Trippier remains the best right-back at the club. Whether your team Livramento or team Trippier, we can all agree there is strength in depth there, so why weaken it?

There will be exits this week, most likely involving fringe players, but Trippier can’t be one of them. From a purely football perspective, it makes no sense.

A big goal for Anthony Gordon?

When the half-time whistle blew at the Vitality Stadium, you wouldn’t have questioned Howe for toying with taking Gordon off.

The winger looked to be lacking a yard against Southampton last week and it was the same for the opening 45 on Sunday. Twice Alexander Isak directed a dangerous cross into Gordon’s path, twice he wasn’t there.

But it was third time lucky. When Barnes was brought on, Gordon moved over to the right and came up trumps at the back post to equalise.

A big goal for Gordon? Well, Howe kind of agreed. “I think every attacking player needs to score and needs to try and score regularly to try and build their confidence levels,” he replied.

“I thought Anthony played well today, took his goal really well by drifting off the right hand side and attacking crosses - it was a great ball in by Harvey at a crucial time in the game, and when we scored I thought we could go on and win it.

“But I was delighted with his attitude and how he kept going right until the end even though he’s still had limited training time.” 

Let’s hope that’s the cobwebs well and truly blown off because United need their talisman firing. 

Joelinton off-day

Newcastle legend Alan Shearer labelled Joelinton as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League after his match-winning performance against Southampton. Now, I’d love to hear Shearer’s thoughts after Bournemouth...

Everyone has off days of course, and the Brazilian certainly had one of those at the Vitality Stadium.

The 27-year-old conceded possession in the build-up to Marcus Tavernier’s opener and was sluggish throughout. It didn’t click in the final third either, whether that be poor passes or finishing.

He was also fortunate to avoid a red card in the dying stages when he swung his arm around the neck of goalkeeper Neto to prevent him from quickly launching his side on the counter-attack.

Given Newcastle have already had one player sent off this season, it wasn’t Joelinton’s smartest move. Even Howe described it as “reckless”

A huge week for Newcastle United

It is a huge week (already) for Newcastle with just five days of the transfer window remaining. There is, of course, the small matter of the Carabao Cup tie away to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday too.

So far this summer, United have recruited two goalkeepers, neither of whom will challenge Nick Pope, two left-backs, including one who was with the club last season, and a back-up striker to Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak.

Where is the signing that will immediately improve the starting XI and aid the push for European qualification?

It’s pretty evident that Marc Guehi is the No.1 target but there are no guarantees a fee will be agreed with Crystal Palace having already seen multiple bids turned down. If not Guehi then it needs to be somebody that will grab people’s attention.

There’s no hiding from the fact that the transfer window so far has been very disappointing, but there’s still time to rescue it. Paul Mitchell, who watched on from the stands versus Bournemouth, has it all to do.