Howe speaks out on Guehi saga, Almiron's future, transfer plans and summer so far
Eddie Howe has been speaking to the media this morning ahead of tomorrow's opening game of the 2024/25 season, although the start of his press conference centered mainly around transfers.
After admitting that he is "is not aware" of any deal being 'close' at this stage, Howe was asked if he minded that our attempts to sign Marc Guehi had gone public, saying: "Not at all. I can only control myself and what I say and I try to do that as well as I can.
"You're not in control of every aspect of the deal, other clubs, and sometimes your own club. That's fine. There's loads of different ways to work. I don't comment on transfer speculation more out of respect for other clubs and players. I know that's how I'd want to be treated the other way."
This comes after it was revealed this morning that Newcastle had launched a fourth bid for the Crystal Palace centre-back, which is thought to be much closer to the Eagles' £65m asking price.
Howe was then asked about Miguel Almiron's future after Charlotte FC's saw a deal collapse for the Paraguayan on Wednesday. Asked if he'd be happy to see the winger stay, he said: "Absolutely. We'll work with Miggy to try and get his game to the level it was two years ago when he was absolutely incredible for us. His commitment, attitude and professionalism is second to none. His worth to us is never underestimated. He is a truly great person and professional. "There's been a lot of speculation with Miggy over the future and I'm sure that's been very difficult for him, He's a really valued member of the squad. We very much value his qualities and what he brings and we hope he has a great season." Howe then discussed transfers plans in more depth, insisting we remain focused on quality over quantity: "Everyone is looking for the best players. From our perspective, we've got a very good squad. So to sign players and make the squad better, it's difficult.
On transfer fees and walking away from deals, he added: "We have done [walked away] many times especially early on when there was very much a Newcastle tax. When we would turn up the price would double.
Many times we would not go down that road where we are overpaying for players. I think it has changed slightly because people have seen our dynamic and we aren't going to pay silly fees for players."
The boss was then asked how he's found the summer transfer window, saying: "I can't swear, can I? June was difficult. It was stressful. June was very different. I've never been in that position before. Making decisions from a financial perspective but not a football perspective.
"That goes against everything I'm thinking about. That moment was totally different. Once that had gone and we got over the disappointment of losing two talent young players we didn't want to lose, you look forward to the future.
"The players we've recruited so far, albeit not huge in number of transfer fees, have added to the group. I certainly hope we can add some more in the next two weeks."
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