Fabrizio Romano told his Twitter followers that Eddie Howe has verbally agreed a deal until 2024 to become the new Newcastle United manager. Despite this development, he shared that there could be potential stumbling blocks for the former Bournemouth gaffer.
In the summer, it was widely expected that Howe would head north of the border to take charge of Celtic. While the exact details were never released as to why the deal fell through, BBC Sport reported the make-up of his backroom staff could have been a key factor in his decision.
Howe has been without a job since leaving Bournemouth in 2020, his eight year stay with the club was ended after their relegation to the Championship.
And now, Romano has delivered an update on the situation, explaining that “there’s still something to be fixed to reach an agreement with his technical staff members”.
Below is how Newcastle fans reacted to the news.
What did Newcastle fans make of Romano’s Howe update?
“Technical staff. Is he trying to bring his family in as assistants or something? Doesn’t add up.” @ttdumper
“It’s happening again lol.” @Winaldinho
“Remember when they had one of those with Fonseca… Then with Emery… Feels like this is going south aswell.” @Evripidous
“So NUFC this. Like previous regime, they do seem to make things over complicated! If you appoint him he obviously needs his staff etc, not complicated.” @camtoon64
“I hope we don’t mess about like this when we are buying players or we will end up with no one.” @geordiegirlx
“At this point i wouldn’t even be surprised if this doesn’t fall through” @ya_boi_kaii
It is unclear currently if Howe will take the job at Newcastle, but Newcastle fans will be hoping he does. The longer it takes to find Steve Bruce’s successor, the more detrimental the impact could be on the club’s chances of avoiding relegation this season. The Magpies currently sit 19th in the Premier League, six points adrift from safety.
If he takes the job, Howe will have to add to his 56 Premier League wins as a manager (via Premier League) with survival paramount to the club after their recent takeover.