London (AFP) – Newcastle co-owner Amanda Staveley says the struggling Premier League club will back new boss Eddie Howe in the January transfer window as they battle to avoid relegation.
Howe was hired earlier this week as Newcastle’s wealthly new Saudi owners seek to transform their club after years in the wilderness.
Staveley, the public face of the Saudi-led ownership, believes new signings in January will be vital to Newcastle’s hopes of climbing away from the relegation zone.
They are currently second bottom after failing to win any of their first 11 league matches.
“We are preparing for the January transfer window,” Staveley told NUFC TV on Thursday.
“It’s not a window we would ordinarily want to invest in, because you probably don’t get the right deals, but that’s something that is important at the moment.”
Staveley dismissed suggestions the consortium would have been better waiting until later in the season before deciding to make its move, due to Newcastle’s perilous position.
Howe’s success at Bournemouth, whom he led from the fourth tier into the top-flight in two spells at the club, convinced them that the 43-year-old was the right man for the job after other coaches had turned Newcastle down.
“It would have been an easy decision for us to not buy the club just yet, wait until probably post-Christmas and post the January window, see where the club sat in the league, and then make the acquisition,” she said.
“That would have been the safe investment bet, but we didn’t do that… we took a risk because we knew the club was sitting in 19th position at the time. Eddie took that risk with us knowing there is always a chance of relegation. I think he’s going to just do the most incredible job.”
