It's been a season full of frustration for Newcastle United, who made such significant progress in the previous campaign by qualifying for the Champions League. After a summer of transfers to forget, followed by a limited winter window, they could now see their misery compiled by the potential exit of a vital cog in the St James' Park machine.
Newcastle exit news
Throughout the January transfer window, the likes of Callum Wilson, Miguel Almiron and Kieran Trippier were among the players to be linked with moves away from Newcastle, who found themselves walking a profit and sustainability tightrope due to their reported £155m in losses over the last three seasons. Despite that figure, however, Eddie Howe kept hold of his stars.
It remains to be seen whether that will be the case during the summer though, with Joelinton potentially one to keep an eye on. The Brazilian's contract runs out in the summer of 2025 and Howe admitted that he could yet leave, saying via BBC Sport: "He has 18 months left on his contract so it's a possibility he'll be sold in the summer."
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Making matters worse, it's not just those on the pitch that the Magpies have to worry about. According to Wayne Veysey of Football Insider, Dan Ashworth has agreed terms with Manchester United to become their first-ever sporting director. Ashworth – currently the sporting director at Newcastle – would take a lengthy period of gardening leave before completing his Old Trafford switch to join up with Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
It would be some blow for Newcastle, given how vital Ashworth's been to their project since 2022, building a squad capable of reaching the Premier League's top four. Just who they get in to replace the former Brighton & Hove Albion man is not yet clear, but Luke Edwards has claimed that former Liverpool man Michael Edwards is a name which has crept up in conversations.
Major blow for Newcastle
One of the most impressive in his role, Ashworth's exit, should it occur, could leave Newcastle's project under PIF in tatters. Meanwhile, Manchester United would be getting the perfect sporting director to finally start to organise the chaos of Old Trafford.
Gary Neville has already given his seal of approval when it comes to Ashworth too, posting on X back in November of last year:
At a time when Newcastle have been left more frustrated than ever off the pitch under PIF, Ashworth's exit would be coming at the worst time possible ahead of a vital summer transfer window. Not only will the Magpies have to think about incomings to improve Howe's side, but also restructuring away from St James' Park, potentially forced to replace their sporting director.