Wow Done Deal: Newcastle reveals ‘very expensive’ Financial Fair Play truth about signing new striker
Newcastle United looks set to be without both Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson for the visit of Bournemouth and Eddie Howe has been asked about the need to bring in more firepower this summer Eddie Howe has admitted that Newcastle United has a ‘delicate balance’ to strike this summer because centre forwards are ‘very expensive’.
Newcastle has not exactly struggled for goals so far this season – only Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal have scored more in the Premier League – but the Magpies are facing up to the prospect of taking on Bournemouth without a recognized number nine on Saturday. Alexander Isak is very close to returning to action, following his latest groin issue, but the club’s record signing looks set to miss today’s game while Callum Wilson has undergone an operation after picking up a freak pectoral injury.
Newcastle hope Wilson will recover before the end of the campaign, but Howe has rarely had the luxury of being able to rotate both the England international and Isak over a sustained period or, even, to play them together because of their respective injury issues. The club’s top scorers have missed a combined 23 games this season so does Newcastle need more firepower in the summer? “If you have an injury to one of the two strikers that we have then, of course, you’re going to look at it and think, ‘We need a striker,'” Howe told reporters. “The issue that we have is they’re usually very expensive and, then, if those two strikers are fit, what do you do with the third one? It’s not as easy as, ‘Do you need a striker? Let’s go and get one because we’re having to be very smart with the money that we do have, with Financial Fair Play and putting that money into the best positions possible so it’s a delicate balance.”