Eddie Howe has warned that it is 'very difficult' to plan a summer transfer window - even if the Newcastle United head coach has an 'idea' of what he wants to do.
Although Howe's immediate focus is on Newcastle's final game of the campaign, at Burnley on Sunday, the post-season window will open in little more than three weeks' time. The powers at be have been planning for next season for a while now and recruitment meetings have stepped up as Newcastle look to build on what was a productive January window.
Newcastle spent around £93m in the mid-season window, in an effort to beat the drop, but the Magpies look set to have a slightly different strategy in the coming months after mainly targeting individuals with Premier League experience earlier this year. Howe is now more open to signing younger players from abroad as well as footballers who have previously played in the top-flight.
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Unlike in January, players will leave on a permanent basis this summer, which will also bring the average age down. No decisions have been made on who will be departing in the coming months, but Howe will speak to the players about their futures at the end of the campaign.
While there will be changes, the message from the club has been that it will be a summer of evolution rather than revolution in what will be Howe and the owners' first post-season window. Newcastle will at least have more time to shape the squad than they did in January, but that won't necessarily make it any more straightforward.
"It's very difficult to plan a summer transfer window because of the unpredictability of the market," Howe told reporters.
"But, of course, I have an idea of what I want to do, where I want to take the team and the changes that we need to make. It's one thing having that idea in your head and then another thing executing it so we will wait and see what happens."
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