Newcastle sporting director Paul Mitchell insists club’s transfer policy wasn’t ‘fit for purpose’ but vows to play a more commanding role in future recruitment alongside Eddie Howe

Paul Mitchell says the transfer strategy he pursued at Newcastle was not fit for purpose as he vows to exert his influence at the club after playing only a ‘supporting’ role this summer.

The new sporting director has been the target of criticism after failing to land Eddie Howe’s top choice Marc Guehi last month. The Magpies walked away from a £70million deal for the Crystal Palace defender and closed the window with just two new signings for a fee of just £10million, leaving Howe frustrated.

The head coach has previously been more involved in transfers, as part of a team that included former sporting director Dan Ashworth, co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi and head of recruitment Steve Nickson.

However, Mitchell says the club, which narrowly avoided a PSR breach in June, is paying the price for overspending, failing to sell players and having too little scouting knowledge.

“I think it’s hard to have a predefined strategy,” he said. “Do we need to be more expansive in our scouting and recruiting with a broader scope? We certainly should, because this is becoming a very nuanced space now, where you can’t just capitalize every year and buy loads of players at their peak age and peak price. You certainly have to, and that’s the responsibility of myself, the scouting team and Eddie.

Mitchell accompanied Newcastle manager Eddie Howe (left) and his players to Germany for pre-season training

Mitchell has vowed to play a more dominant role in future recruitment at Newcastle

‘Is it fit for purpose? Not last winter, but the winter before that. Is it fit for purpose in the modern game, with the modern challenges? Because other clubs who have taken a different approach over time, with more intelligence, more data-informed than us, have thrived in this window. That’s where we need to grow now.’

Mitchell did not name Guehi, but said Howe had no other goals to pursue.

“We had a player as the main, main target,” he said. “We were in discussions all the time (with Palace), but Eddie was very clear, and it’s not for me to say after seven weeks, ‘We’re going to do this and that’, because I’m in a supporting role.

“If there were options, of course, because that’s the responsibility of the department and the club. But Eddie was very clear that he had to feel comfortable that the person added value, because we have really good players. That’s why we ended up where we ended up.

‘And he’s smart, he was involved in all the conversations about PSR, expenditure, costs, cash flow, he’s a smart head coach who has the ability to stay on top of those conversations. And that was the decision he made – it was that player, or he felt he was comfortable with the quality we have.’

But Mitchell says it was important the club did not demand a player be taken hostage.

“It’s about setting precedents for the market that we’re paying a fair price for the right profile,” he said. “It shouldn’t be misconstrued as a lack of ambition, I just think that’s the model you have to work with now in the modern game.

‘If we just keep spending, spending, spending, and then we’re held accountable for it through penalties, fines and deductions of points. That’s not good leadership, that’s negligent.’

Newcastle missed out on a deal for their top summer target, Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi

Mitchell is working with Howe to make the club more successful in future transfer windows

Newcastle have had a strong start to the new Premier League season, winning twice and drawing once

Howe said in July he could only be happy at the club if the new working dynamic with Mitchell and performance director James Bunce was right.

On the addition of Bunce, Mitchell added: “I’d like to think that someone as smart and intelligent as Eddie Howe would recognise quality wherever it comes from. We’ve got to keep building that into our infrastructure. That goes for scouting too. I think good players are getting harder to find because scouting is so competitive.

“But I think Eddie recognises good players and he also recognises that this club is developing into bigger, bigger and bigger. If you look at the super clubs, their infrastructure, their recruitment, they don’t just look at one market. They have a wider scouting and recruitment network.

“I think Eddie is smart enough to understand – and he certainly is – that you have to diversify to get to the next level. Otherwise, you just stay local and retire. I think our ambition is much bigger than that.”