Ewen Jaouen reveals Eddie Howe phone calls before sealing £18m move

Eddie Howe may not be the man in charge of transfers anymore at Newcastle United, but the gaffer is certainly still involved.

There are those who will point the finger squarely at Howe for the poor recruitment last summer, and while he absolutely should bear the brunt of the blame, he wasn't the only reason things went sideways. The lack of a sporting director and CEO were two huge factors that contributed to a difficult summer.

Those issues are gone now with the arrival of David Hopkinson as CEO and Ross Wilson as sporting director. However, it seems like Eddie Howe isn't purely a passenger when it comes to transfers.

Speaking to the club's official media team, new signing Ewen Jaouen revealed that he had a phone call with Eddie Howe before signing for the club.

Jaouen buoyed by Eddie Howe chats 

It seems Jaouen was acutely aware of Howe's reputation for developing players, and it was a big part of his decision to join.

Speaking in his first big interview, the 20-year-old has talked up Howe's plan to develop his game and communicate, hoping he and our coaching staff can help him settle into the demands of Premier League football.

"I'm really excited (to work with Eddie Howe). I had him on the phone a few times, and he expressed he is willing to develop me, to talk to me, to pay attention to my development.

"So to hear that from the coach, it was really part of my decision. It made me feel a bit like home even though I hadn't signed yet."

"I hope he can bring me Premier League experience, the toughest league in the world, and experience from the other goalkeepers at the club, and coaching staff. Experience is the best thing I can take from him."

Howe pushing overseas purchases 

Howe is obviously still involved in the signings, which we're glad about. It's one aspect of modern football that can be baffling to me: how sporting directors can go off and sign players and then throw them into the squad for the manager to deal with.

Players being signed by clubs that don't have a manager in place at the time is crazy to me. What if the manager you bring in doesn't want that player and they've now wasted the whole budget on them? 

So, going off what Jaoen has said about his conversations with Howe, it seems as though it's a move that had his full backing, rubbishing any previous claims that our overseas additions aren't 'Howe signings.'