Howe admits future of Newcastle player is “unclear” and reveals PSR myth

There were plenty of topics discussed during Eddie Howe’s press conference this morning.

Speaking to the media at 9am, the “delighted” boss reacted to Fabian Schar’s new contract, issued an update on four injury niggles and the future of a few players.

This comes as Newcastle may be considering the potential PSR implications of certain sales, with a number of Mags out of contract next summer as they approach the final 12 months of their current deals.

During today’s press conference, a journalist asked Howe about “forgotten man” Sean Longstaff, who hasn’t started a Premier League game since our 4-2 defeat at Brentford in December.

The boss hailed his attitude and displays in training, but admitted the Geordie midfielder’s long-term future is “slightly unclear.”

Discussing the 27-year-old, Howe said: “His long term future is slightly more unclear. But what I can say is that behind the scenes, Sean has been very good, helping the group, training to a high level.

“I cannot speak highly enough of him as a player. We are going to need the whole squad in our league season. We have nine massive games to come and everybody has to be ready.”

A recent extension meant we protected the player’s value, keeping him contracted until 2026, but his lack of game and contract situation could make this summer a suitable time to sell for all parties.

Howe was also asked about the importance of Kieran Trippier in recent weeks, with one reporter asking if his influence has justified our decision to keep the right-back despite bids from Bayern Munich last year.

In response, Howe insisted the idea of selling certain players at specific times for PSR reasons “can be misleading”, as he revealed that there was actually “no big PSR benefit” to selling Trippier at the time.

“It can be misleading (the idea of selling for PSR purposes),” Howe said. “There was no big PSR benefit in selling Kieran (when Bayern Munich looked to sign him last January).”

He also added that no part of him wanted to lose the experienced full-back, saying: “From a footballing perspective there was no temptation to sell Kieran.”