Eddie Howe appears to have won his first battle with Newcastle’s new sporting director Paul Mitchell. The Englishman has been forced to cope with a series of changes behind the scenes on Tyneside, but Howe has proved he is still very much in charge as far as strengthening the squad this summer is concerned.
Newcastle chiefs reportedly held face-to-face talks with Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo this week to discuss a potential move to St James’ Park, even though Howe was not keen on signing the centre-back.
But the Magpies have reportedly chosen to end their pursuit of the Frenchman, according to talkSPORT, leaving Juventus and West Ham to scrap over the 23-year-old’s signature.
In any case, it is a major success for Howe, as it demonstrates the veto power he held over transfers at the club still exists some weeks after director Amanda Staveley left the club.
Howe had an agreement with former Toon supremo Amanda Staveley that he would have the final say on transfers and her departure cast doubt over whether he still had to power to wield over blocking certain signings.
But the 46-year-old has stood firm on turning down the chance to progress further with Todibo and the club will now look at alternative targets.
Once on the books at Barcelona before ending an ill-fated spell in La Liga, Todibo is in high demand this summer and has been tracked by Chelsea and Manchester United.
However, due to an existing agreement between United and Nice which allowed both clubs to compete in the same UEFA competition, the European governing body confirmed the clubs cannot directly trade players until September 2025.
Pre-existing transfer agreements before CFCB proceedings opened are being treated as an exception. That ruled out the possibility of United signing Nice defender Todibo this summer, landing a blow to INEOS’ early transfer plans at Old Trafford.
In June, their billionaire co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe slammed the ruling, claiming an unknown player at Nice wanted to join United and was considered good enough to make the switch.
It remains to be seen whether Newcastle will move for another centre-back that Howe has pre-approved or not. But the former Bourmemouth boss remains the man in charge at the Saudi-owned club.
