Eddie Howe admits it wasn't a 'perfect' transfer window for Newcastle United as the Magpies failed to add another midfielder on transfer deadline day. Newcastle only managed to add Anthony Gordon and Harrison Ashby, both 21, in the final days of the window and now look light in certain areas of the pitch.
Jonjo Shelvey departed in the final hours of Tuesday, bidding farewell to Newcastle on the St James' Park turf at half-time. The midfielder's Nottingham Forest move further depletes Howe's midfield ahead of a crucial Premier League period.
Bruno Guimaraes' red card against Southampton adds further pressure on Tyneside with the Brazilian poised to miss league ties with West Ham, Liverpool and Bournemouth before returning for the Carabao Cup final.
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“No window is perfect, and I don’t think this window has been perfect for us. That’s just the reality of the situation," Howe said after Newcastle booked their place at Wembley.
“I think we’ve signed two really talented young players, and I’m really pleased with those signings. We were disappointed to lose Chris Wood and Jonjo Shelvey, but you have to respect players’ wishes as well and it’s not always about what the club wants.
“You have to look at things from a position of everybody’s needs and wants. We’re maybe light in a couple of areas, but we do have a lot of quality within the squad.”
Ashby's Deadline Day will at least provide added cover at right-back, with Javier Manquillo facing a spell on the sidelines. “He’s definitely one for the future, but he’s a talented young player. We feel he has areas to improve, as all young players do, but I think he has good character," Howe said at full-time.
“He’s got really good ability, really good physical attributes and technical attributes. Javier Manquillo picked up an injury in training so he’ll be missing for three to four weeks, so it’s an area we were light in, in numbers, so bringing Harrison in, for good value in the market for current prices, was a good deal all round for us.”
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