Eddie Howe: I want quick signings this summer

Newcastle United were simply far too slow to act in the transfer market last summer, and it cost them dearly.

There were a whole host of reasons for the poor performance in the transfer market last year, namely the lack of a CEO and sporting director, which meant the club really struggled in negotiations. 

The looming dark shadow cast by the Alexander Isak saga made everything even more difficult, as Newcastle likely knew they had a big payday coming, but negotiations dragged on all summer. On top of that, the media circus that whole thing generated was a huge distraction and probably didn't sell the club in a great light to potential signings.

Newcastle lost out on so many of their primary targets that it became a scramble towards the end of the window to get the players in that were needed, and as we know now, they didn't have any time to integrate and had to try and fit into the system on the fly with pretty poor results overall.

Howe asks for quick business 

Eddie Howe has often spoken about the importance of getting players in early, but he's often been let down in that regard. He's singing the same song again this year, but hopefully the club is in a much better place to provide.

Speaking to the media on Friday morning ahead of Sunday's clash with Fulham, Eddie Howe was asked about the plans for the summer and once again reiterated his desire to get signings in early.

"July 13 is when they come back, then we have the training camp. But I say every year, we'd love to get players through the door early so they can do pre-season from day one, especially if they aren't at the World Cup.

"It's for obvious reasons, so we can acclimatise and start our work so they feel part of the team. Last summer was difficult for us in that respect.

"A lot of players came in late, and then you are trying to do that work while there are games happening."

Newcastle must learn from last summer's mistakes 

Ross Wilson's team have been very active of late, and the scouting network looks to have found plenty of players. It's now down to the man himself to bring those players in and to do so in an expedient manner so Eddie Howe can maximise his time with them ahead of the new season.

Without European football to get in the way next season, he'll have a lot more time on the training pitch with his charges, too, so we should be expecting to be back in the running for Champions League next year as long as the recruitment is right.

Though a lot of importance is placed on getting players in early, and we absolutely see why, especially after seeing what happens when we dilly-dally. However, Anthony Elanga was brought in quite early in the summer, and he has been one of the worst signings in recent years, so it's not all about the timing.