Howe names position he plans to strengthen this summer and weakness we must improve

Eddie Howe has confirmed that Newcastle will be looking to add midfield reinforcements this summer as we prepare to ‘bolster our resources’ ahead of what will be a fairly packed schedule next season.

As the boss explained, since January we have only had four midfielders available in Joelinton, Longstaff, Bruno and Willock, meaning we were ‘one injury away from a very difficult situation’.

This area is now a priority to improve on for Howe. Several names have been linked - McTominay, Onana, Thuram and but it remains to be seen who we'll pursue in our search to add depth and quality to our engine room.

Howe also suggested that with Champions League on the horizon, this current squad is not capable of dealing with two or three big injuries and that we will need more options.

While it would be great for the current group of players to get their chance in the Champions League, we will certainly need three or four quality additions for added squad depth. Here’s what Howe had to say on the matter:

“It’s a difficult one because we go into a lot of competitions next year, so we need the depth,” said the Magpies boss. “This year, we’ve been light in certain areas of the pitch.

“In the second half of the season, we’ve carried four midfielders, so you’re one injury away from a very difficult situation. So, we need a little bit more depth, certainly with three games in a week next year.

“We don’t quite have the depth yet. In fairness, we are suffering from injuries at this stage of the season, but that (the lack of options) is a concern for us.

“We do need to bolster our resources because we can’t be looking at a situation where we get two or three injuries and we’re in a difficult position.”