Eddie Howe has been asked about Newcastle United's transfer links with Germany star Antonio Rudiger. The Chelsea star is nearing the end of his current contract at Stamford Bridge and is available for free in the summer.
The classy former AS Roma centre-back would be a marquee addition to Howe's squad with work behind the scenes already under way. Howe wants to focus on securing Premier League survival before getting too heavily drawn into talk on new signings.
When asked about Rudiger, Howe said: "I don't think it is the time to start commenting about other teams or other players. I have not given recruitment or squad planning one ounce of my energy because we are focused on the games."
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Howe has left the recruitment side of the club to chief scout Steve Nickson while Dan Ashworth is set to arrive on Tyneside at some stage this year. Howe said: "There's only one phase for me, if you are going to put it in phases, and it's phase one. Phase two? That can wait.
"I have put no energy towards that one whatsoever. The future will take care of itself.
"From my point of view, in terms of Premier League planning - it won't happen if we don't get the day to day running right.
"Everything is going into the intense spell we have at the moment. "It's not my job to give energy to that, it's other people at the football club, spending time, quite rightly, in terms of recruitment but my energy at the moment is in the team."
