Paul Mitchell speaks after Newcastle miss out on Marc Guehi and tells PIF plan (original) (raw)

Newcastle United had to 'draw a line in the sand' this summer - but sporting director Paul Mitchell has insisted the club's owners are 'as ambitious as ever' to be number one.

Newcastle ultimately failed to add a difference maker to the squad during a bruising transfer window after missing out on their top target Marc Guehi. Although Newcastle continued to hold discussions with Crystal Palace, the Magpies stopped bidding for Guehi weeks before the close of business after feeling that the Eagles' demands were beyond the club's limits and beyond what they should be paying for a player with less than two years left on his contract.

Mitchell said the Newcastle tax was a 'real thing' this summer and the black-and-whites were conscious of sending a message to the market that they will only pay fair value. It must be stressed that Mitchell would not be drawn directly on Guehi during a sit-down with reporters, but when it came to the window just gone, the 43-year-old made it clear that the club had to 'draw a line in the sand' to say that they were not going to overpay for their targets.

“Would it have been easier to sit in front of you all with hallmark signings that cost a load of money?" he asked journalists during a 90-minute interview at St James' Park. "Of course it would. But ultimately have them at the detriment to Newcastle’s ability to grow and high strategic ambitions for Paul Mitchell’s glorification? That’s not the job I’m paid to do. I’m paid to look after the club in the short, medium and long-term."

Mitchell admitted it was 'difficult coming into a predefined strategy', after being appointed on July 4, and said there were 'things we got wrong' having felt that Newcastle were 'probably too narrow'. That process will now be analysed to make sure that Newcastle can become a 'sustainable high performer'.

There is a realisation internally that Newcastle are going to have to 'map this differently and approach this differently' because the strategy of the previous two-and-a-half years 'can't work now' because of the financial restrictions the club are facing. That will affect the speed of Newcastle's growth, but Mitchell is adamant it won't affect the final destination.

It goes without saying that Newcastle would 'love to get where some of the super clubs are' in one or two years, but conversations are currently taking place internally about how long it will take the black-and-whites to realise that ambition so that they set the right expectation and timeline. Mitchell even held formal face-to-face talks with chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan about the club's plan and vision after the win against Spurs a few days ago.

"I have a few more grey hairs because of the level of ambition that we actually have," he said. "He is as ambitious and enthused as ever. I only know from my interaction - I can't speak for anyone else's - but he's super ambitious and he wants us to perform at the number one level.

"He wants us to perform not only through the money we spend - he wants us to be best in class across everything we do, whether that be youth development, the women's team, scouting and recruitment, data and insight, coaching, innovation. He wants our position to be at the top, but to be there for the reasons that people admire as a really well-oiled, well-executed machine of a football operation. That for me came across in his message.

"He's a very smart man. I think he can see that the club is growing, but he's smart enough to know it's moved very quickly over a very short period of time. He knows infrastructure is important. He knows people IP are important. He knows a higher overarching framework and strategy are crucial to get to where we want to get to. Using terminology like that shows there's a plan and patience. You have to then deliver and execute across that plan and timescale, but he's a very intelligent owner."

It feels like this project is entering its next phase. Mitchell said Newcastle have to modernise and look at the way the club recruit and scout, and move towards a more global, data-informed approach to find 'undervalued' talent of a certain age profile going forward.

Newcastle also have to become better traders after not having the sales window they expected to. As far as Mitchell is concerned, Newcastle cannot continue to operate like they have done in the last two-and-a-half years after finding themselves in a 'big hole' at the end of the last financial year. However they get there, though, the ultimate ambition remains the same: to be number one.

"It drives us all to be better every day," Mitchell added. "We need to work towards being number one. Does he [Al-Rumayyan] want us to be number one? Yes. Should we be scared of ambition? No. Should we thrive and challenge ourselves every day to get there?

"It's not just number one on a podium in the Premier League or the Champions League. It's number one in every department.

Eddie Howe and Paul Mitchell

"That's what I've learnt and what we probably haven't expressed well enough. We want to be best in class in everything we do and that's a great challenge.

"Is it one of those things where we need to be number one and if we don't get there tomorrow? No. He's smarter than that.

"This is a longer-term investment than being number one tomorrow. This is best in class, being number one in everything we do, and those drivers will get us there."

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