Paul Mitchell quit stories blasted at Newcastle United as transfer supremo and Eddie Howe backed
Newcastle United sporting director Paul Mitchell's candid words were the talk of football last week
Newcastle United have distanced themselves from reports suggesting that sporting director Paul Mitchell is ready to quit his role at St James' Park.
Reports over the weekend suggested that Mitchell's remarks that the club's scouting department wasn't "fit for purpose" had destabilised United's backroom team and upset the man he replaced in Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth. Chronicle Live understands that CEO Darren Eales has shrugged off any talk of unrest and has backed both Mitchell and head coach Eddie Howe to work together.
Mitchell's contract is also believed to be long-term and similar in length to that of Howe who signed a multi-year deal in 2022. Eales stated earlier this summer that Howe's contract was also extended and improved in 2023. Mitchell is said to be committed to the club short-term, mid-term and long-term as he attempts to set out his vision for the Magpies.
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The ex-Monaco supremo, who has been in the job for two months, was asked about the scouting department last week. He said: "Is it fit for purpose? Not last winter gone, the winter before that. Is it fit for purpose in the modern game?
"Because other clubs that have adopted a different approach over time, with more intelligence, more data-informed than we are, actually prospered in this window. That's where we have to grow to be now.
"You look at the money we have invested up to this point, £250 million net over the last two-and-a-half years.
"Was our model in place to be able to spend more to the levels we would have liked to enhance the team? I don't think it was, because we haven't sold a player during that time, barring what we were forced to do through PSR."
Howe will face the media later on Friday and will no doubt be pressed on Mitchell's answers from the wide ranging 90 minute long media summit last week at St James'. Despite a clutch of stories that Howe is unsettled and considering his options, amid talk of the England job, the former AFC Bournemouth boss spoke about the togetherness in the camp only last weekend.
He said then: "The togetherness always drives me forward. When you come to work every day, your interactions with the players and staff we have here are an absolute pleasure and a privilege.
"I think we have a great team spirit, and that’s something we have to protect at all costs. In part, that does go back to the transfer window, we have to bring the right characters to the group. The characters we’ve brought in so far have helped us get to where we are."