Howe responds to Shearer’s Fernandez transfer plea and apologises for snubbing Newcastle icon & BBC pundit to watch ITV
EDDIE HOWE has admitted that the price for Argentina star Enzo Fernandez would be “quite lumpy” after Alan Shearer joked that Newcastle should sign him.
The midfielder is coming off the back of winning the World Cup and being awarded the Golden Boy award for his brilliant performances at the tournament.
After Fernandez’s outings in Qatar, Magpies legend Shearer joked that he would fit in at St James’ Park.
However, Howe appeared to pour cold water on the idea of signing the Benfica midfielder.
He said: “I’m aware of him, and I know him. But I think the transfer fee might be quite lumpy”.
Howe also admitted that he missed the plea from Shearer as he was not watching the World Cup final on BBC.
He said: “I apologise to Alan, I was on the other channel”.
The manager had a meeting with the club’s owners and sporting director Dan Ashworth during the break for the World Cup to discuss transfers.
And he was keen to insist that signing players off the back of an international tournament is not always a good idea.
He added: “From a recruitment perspective, I don’t think you ever just analyse the World Cup and sign a player off the back of those performances.
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“There is a huge body of work goes into signing those players and it is never just off four weeks.
“That’s not to say we won’t use the World Cup as a recruitment tool and look at players. But just solely on those games, we wouldn’t do that”.
Howe has seen a large amount of investment in players since taking over from Steve Bruce last season.
Newcastle have spent over £200 million on players since last January, and that has helped them survive a relegation battle and are now challenging for the Champions League spots in the Premier League.
Howe also updated fans on the fitness of strikers Callum Wilson and £63m man Alexander Isak, who has been out with a thigh injury.
He said: “We are still in the same situation with Alex.
“We are assessing him day by day and want to make sure that, when he returns, he comes back in the best possible condition.
“With Callum, I have never said there is an issue with him. So yeah, he’s fine”.