Eddie Howe's ability to improve players should be a key factor in this summer's transfer window, according to former Newcastle United goalkeeper Shaka Hislop.
The Magpies have again been linked with a host of big-name signings already this summer, but ex-United shot-stopper Hislop says anyone with any doubts over a move to Tyneside should look at what Howe has done with his current squad. The likes of Miguel Almiron, Fabian Schar, Joelinton and many more have improved significantly in the past 18 months, playing a key role as the club qualified for the Champions League.
Hislop has urged Chelsea's Christian Pulisic to join the Magpies this summer, with his future at Stamford Bridge unclear. Whether Newcastle follow up any reported interest remains doubtful, but Hislop's broader point about the Eddie Howe factor applies to any target this summer.
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“I think he’d get the management he needs at Newcastle United," Hislop said of Pulisic. "If Newcastle come in for Christian Pulisic. If I have anything to do with advising him, I’m telling him take it.
“Let’s remember Christian Pulisic has struggled to establish himself in a team that just finished 12th in the league. And given his stop-start and inconsistencies in English football – even dating back to his latter Dortmund days – right now, to get a team finishing in the top-four, top-half of the Premier League, I can’t think of any other.
“The reason I say he’ll get the management he needs is because I look at what Eddie Howe has done with Almiron. If you look at the wide players at Newcastle, we’re talking Willock or Murphy, Eddie Howe likes utilising that pace.
"I would have him. I think he fits how Eddie Howe likes to play. He does not bring the kind of ego and will allow himself to be coached, to learn under Eddie Howe. And just as Almiron did, I think he has a significant role to play.”
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