Newcastle transfers: The key questions answered about Eddie Howe's side's difficult summer

What has gone wrong for Newcastle so far this summer?

What's been the issue with Newcastle's recruitment? Will Alexander Isak stay? Is the transfer window still salvageable for Eddie Howe's side?

From missing out on key targets to rivals to Isak wanting to explore a move away from St James' Park, Sky Sports News' Keith Downie answers the key questions...

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What has been the key problem with Newcastle's recruitment this season?

There have been several issues the club have had to deal with.

The first of those and the most striking one is the fact they have had to operate without a sporting director.

Paul Mitchell left right at the start of the transfer window, and it has left a gaping chasm at the football club.

Eddie Howe, who has been left to pick up the pieces, said he only found out about Mitchell's departure when he was on holiday. Mitchell would have done all the negotiating and dealing with other clubs, but that has been left to Howe and his nephew Andy.

Andy Howe is in the recruitment department and is very highly regarded, but negotiating high-end transfers has been something completely new to him this summer. He has been learning on the job. It's not his fault, he has been thrown in the deep end.

The other problem has been identifying players that other clubs are keen on.

If you look at the players they have targeted, Dean Huijsen chose Real Madrid. Liam Delap and Joao Pedro chose Chelsea.

Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo chose Manchester United, with Benjamin Sesko set to follow them to Old Trafford. The front three at Manchester United next season is set to be three players Newcastle either liked or tried to sign.

Goalkeeper James Trafford went to Manchester City due to a clause in his Burnley contract, and Hugo Ekitike of course was pinched by Liverpool.

Newcastle were close to signing the Frenchman in a club-record deal, only to be pipped at the post by the Anfield side - who then rubbed salt into he wounds by unsettling Alexander Isak to a point where he refused to travel on Newcastle's pre-season tour.

If you look at the teams they have missed out on players to, it is top-level Champions League teams and Manchester United, who despite having a poor season are still one of the biggest clubs in the world.

It might show that Newcastle's talent identification is good but due to the fact they can't match the wages on offer and the stature of a lot of these clubs, those two ingredients together have made life difficult for the club in this window.

Howe was at pains at the end of the season to stress that there's a small pool of players Newcastle are interested in and that he expected other clubs to be interested in them too. He was expecting competition but not as intense as it has been.

He appealed for the club to act quickly and decisively in the window, but instead they parted company with Mitchell and failed to replace him in a very important summer for Newcastle.

Some will say the Isak situation was avoidable as they knew he was keen on advancing his career months ago, but conversely Liverpool only really came to the table in the last couple of weeks. It is never simple when you are dealing with a Premier League record transfer, so I have sympathy with the club and the manager.

They want to grow, so they need to keep their very best player to do that. They are also in a strong position with Isak having three years left on his contract.

They have also been unlucky with how the Isak situation played out at the same time they were going for Ekitike. Now they could potentially lose both Ekitike and Isak to Liverpool.

I was outside St James' Park three weeks ago when Newcastle made a £70m bid for Ekitike and I said it would be amazing if they could have both him and Isak in their ranks next season. Now both could be wearing the red of Liverpool come September.

Is there sympathy for Eddie Howe amid the fans - and Howe must surely be frustrated?

There is sympathy towards Howe from the fans about the way Isak has conducted himself in recent weeks.

There is also sympathy that he has been left with so much responsibility on his shoulders, especially when he has not long recovered from a serious illness himself, hospitalised with pneumonia.

At Celtic a few weeks ago he looked exhausted - and that was before the Sesko saga.

It's been a really difficult and bruising summer for him off the pitch. This was the summer when Newcastle were supposed to strengthen, with money to spend, ahead of another Champions League campaign.

But as we sit here three weeks before the end of the window, they have only signed Anthony Elanga and Aaron Ramsdale on loan. They have also lost players from the squad, the likes of Calum Wilson and Sean Longstaff have moved on to other Premier League sides and are yet to be upgraded.

There's a great deal of frustration among the fans that they keep getting close to signing new players but then get pipped at the post.

There can't ever have been a transfer window like this before when a club who have so much to look forward to this season, and just off the back of their first trophy success in 70 years, have missed out on so many targets.

Howe himself is hugely frustrated but he is trying to make the best of the situation.

I think he felt that after the Elanga arrival a couple of weeks ago, several new faces and big-name players would follow, but it hasn't worked out like that.

However, the positive in all of this, and the supporters need to grasp onto this, is that Newcastle still have a strong team.

Yes, they maybe don't have a strong enough squad or enough numbers to compete with the schedule that Champions League football brings, but they do still have a strong team. There are good players there at Howe's disposal, and crucially, there remains money to spend.

So, providing they have targets who remain available, I still expect Newcastle to be active between now and the end of the transfer window.

They still need to bring in a centre-back, a striker and I would suggest another midfielder too.

If not Sesko, what next for Newcastle? Does Isak stay or target another striker?

The message from the club all along has been that they would not allow Isak to leave without lining up a ready-made, top-level replacement.

Sesko was seen as that man, hence why they made such a big offer to sign him. it would have smashed the club's transfer record, which was ironically set by Isak three years ago.

They still do not want to sell Isak and that is why there is a £150m price tag on him.

But due to the way he has conducted himself, and Howe being so keen on harmony and fostering a real team environment, there might come a situation where they have to sell him.

The second non-negotiable is they receive an offer they can't refuse for Isak.

They have already rejected a £110m plus add-ons offer from Liverpool. Although Newcastle value him at £150m, I would suggest they would have to come to some sort of agreement somewhere in the middle for Isak to leave St James' Park this summer. I can't see Liverpool upping their bid by £35m at this stage of the window.

But unless Newcastle get a replacement, I can't see him going so that is why there is still a chance we see Isak wearing the back and white of Newcastle this season. That could be problematic because it does feel like he has burnt his bridges with a large section of the supporters and perhaps the manager as well.

It will be absolutely fascinating to see whether he will be wearing the black and white of Newcastle or the red of Liverpool when Arne Slot's side visit St James' Park for the second game of the season.

One way or another, that game is going to have an incredible atmosphere after what Liverpool have attempted this summer, both on the Ekitike and Isak front.

Will Newcastle look to strengthen in other areas? There have been fresh links with Marc Guehi?

If Newcastle do fail in their attempts to land Sesko and he does opt for Manchester United, it's going to be really intriguing to see if they try to bring in another player as a replacement for Isak. I do think they made a fair offer for the striker, throwing everything at it they could.

Newcastle have been trying for a number of weeks to bring in Yoanne Wissa from Brentford, but he is seen as the replacement for Wilson, not Isak.

We are yet to see if there is another target to replace Isak and it may be that there is nobody out there that they see fit to come in and fill his boots. It feels as though they are running out of options.

Newcastle are still keen on bringing in a central defender and a midfielder alongside potentially two strikers. if Isak goes I can see them trying to bring in four players before the window closes. It could be a frantic few weeks.

There have been fresh reports surrounding a move for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi.

I was at the front of that story last summer. Newcastle made multiple efforts to sign him but could not agree a fee with Palace. They offered as much as £65m.

I think there is still interest there but there is interest in a number of defenders, like Giorgio Scalvini at Atalanta. He is a player they have scouted a lot and they certainly do have a lot of interest in him. They also like Malik Thiaw from AC Milan.

There were reports in Germany today that the club did make a bid for the German international, but my information is that they are only interested at this stage and those reports are premature.

There is also competition again for Guehi from Liverpool and a couple of other clubs, so that wouldn't be an easy deal to get done - but there is a definite expectation that they will bring in a defender before the deadline.

How can Newcastle salvage this transfer window before deadline day?

Simply put - by bringing in some new signings.

If they can bring in a decent central defender, a good option in midfield and potentially Wissa alongside Isak staying or Wissa plus another forward if Isak leaves, they would salvage the window to a certain extent.

But because it has taken so long to get these transfers over the line, they have become so protracted, the supporters have become very frustrated.

Everyone that covers the club, supports the club and works for the club have become exhausted by the transfer window. It has been a punishing summer.

It is still salvageable, but without doubt, this transfer window has come at a cost because it has been a really bruising experience for those involved.

I think Eddie Howe himself will openly admit the importance of a sporting director, and he realised that this summer. It's a crucial job. To attack their most important transfer window in two years without one at the helm has been negligent.

Howe is a hands-on manager and he likes to be heavily involved in transfers, but I think this window will allow him to realise that, moving forward, having a sporting director there as a buffer and to help with negotiations is crucial in modern-day football.

The next three weeks will dictate Newcastle's season, but there is still time to soften the series of blows the fans have had to endure.

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