Newcastle working on two transfer "pools" with new strategy in place - Report

After a disaster of a summer transfer window last year, which saw Eddie Howe navigating most of it without support, Newcastle United have a much more robust system in place this year.

Paul Mitchell's departure really left Newcastle in the mire last year, although what positivity he'd have brought if he'd stuck around is debatable; at least we'd have had someone to take the pressure off Howe.

This year we have Ross Wilson in place, backed by David Hopkinson and that duo, along with Eddie Howe, all appear to be on the same page, which couldn't really be said when Mitchell, Howe and Darren Eales were together.

A lot of lessons had to be learned from last summer. Not just from the Alexander Isak debacle, but also all the missed opportunities from taking too long to act.

Newcastle have two lists of targets

According to iNews, Newcastle have a new strategy in place this summer with two pools of players they are looking at.

The first group is made up of young, high-ceiling players Newcastle will prioritise signing; this is where the likes of Victor Munoz reside. Heavily scouted players who Newcastle will look to immediately refresh the squad.

The second pool of names is full of players who Newcastle can pivot to if an opportunity arises, whether that’s options from further afield or market opportunities via release clauses. 

The examples iNews gives are that Ewen Joauen and Victor Munoz are Pool A players, whereas Zadok Yohanna, who opted for Brighton over Newcastle, was a Pool B name, so Newcastle weren't too put out by missing out on the youngster.

There finally appears to be cohesion behind the scenes

We love seeing a peek behind the curtain, and it helps us to figure out which rumours are worth keeping an eye on and which we feel are just media speculation.

Although now we're likely to feel like any player we aren't convinced about the links could be a Plan B option, so if you're someone who hates reading about players only for us to say we don't think he's going to come, then brace yourself for a long summer.

One key thing that Mark Douglas said in his report for iNews is that everyone is aligned at the club on this strategy. That feels massive after all the turmoil since Amanda Staveley was shown the door.