Trouble is brewing behind the scenes at Newcastle United.
Manager Eddie Howe and sporting director Paul Mitchell are reportedly at war with each other with the pair’s relationship at risk of completely breaking down.
Mitchell replaced Dan Ashworth earlier in the summer but despite arriving in the northeast as one of football’s most highly-rated chiefs, the 43-year-old has endured a tough first 10 weeks.
A quiet transfer window saw the Magpies make just five first-team signings, including turning Lewis Hall’s loan permanent and two free transfers with Lloyd Kelly joining from Bournemouth and veteran goalkeeper John Ruddy coming from League One side Birmingham City.
The Geordies wanted to make Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi their marquee signing but despite making multiple offers, with their largest worth £70 million, failed to land the England international.
“There are things we got wrong in our strategy, for sure,” Mitchell recently told NY Times.
“If we could have signed a player that we actively felt could make a really good squad better, would we? Of course we would have done.”
Consequently, tensions between the manager and sporting director have reached boiling point, and according to the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope, the pair have not spoken, over the phone, or in person, for several days.
Howe remains a leading candidate to replace Gareth Southgate as England’s permanent head coach — an opportunity Mitchell has refused to rule out.
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