Eddie Howe outlines the transfer challenge facing Aston Villa which Newcastle already have
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe doesn't believe that the loan market is an option for his club in the January transfer window as he pointed to issues for clubs, like Aston Villa, who aren't able to spend freely because of PSR but also aren't going to get help from rivals in the form of borrowed players.
Howe, like Unai Emery has since done with Villa, led Newcastle to the Premier League top-four in 2023 and he has conducted a very impressive job on Tyneside since replacing Steve Bruce in 2021 however, like Villa, Newcastle have been extremely restricted in what they've been able to do on the recruitment front in recent years years despite their on-field performance and achievements.
The Lions and the Magpies are separated currently by five positions through the middle third of the league table but are still only two points apart and play each other at St James's Park on Boxing Day. From there, eyes will begin to focus on the January window and what it might entail, but supporters of both clubs know that neither club are capable of spending millions and millions without any cares.
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That poses the question about loan moves. Villa decided against exploiting that market in the summer and only really explored overseas deals for Nicolo Zaniolo and Clement Lenglet last summer because of injuries to Emi Buendia and Tyrone Mings. Prior to that, Emery prematurely cancelled the loans sanctioned by Steven Gerrard for Jan Bednarek and Ludwig Augustinsson. As for outgoings, Alex Moreno was lent to Nottingham Forest in the summer.
For Newcastle and Howe, they don't expect much help from rivals who might otherwise be in a position to permit them the borrowing of players to strengthen their own cause in the second half of this season - that more modern attitude, in Howe's mind, likely being born as a result of the heightened financial rules. It's a situation likely to impact Villa similarly.
"The loan market is an easy one to chuck out there and go, 'let's look at loans' but the reality of those loans is very difficult," Howe said. "Who is going to want to help us? Not many football clubs. There were probably a lot more loan options that you could do in previous years before the rules changes. I think now it probably becomes more difficult.
"I would say it has had a dramatic effect on the speed of the journey. That has dramatically changed because of the rules. You can feel that change as everybody gets to grips with PSR and the actual reality of it, because I think there was a period of time where it was unclear on how it would change and what the punishments would be.
"The punishments are now very real for the clubs and there is nothing more sobering than a points deduction in terms of changing what you have to do to comply. I think that has been the biggest change in our reality in what we can and can't do and of course that will affect our ability to change things with our view to winning a trophy."
