Newcastle might be aiming for the moon but not getting past the roof this upcoming season judging by the mediocre transfer additions through the first two months of the summer. That can still change with the Magpies about to land (if the reports are right) Crystal Palace’s defender and England international Marc Guehi.

Eddie Howe has clarified the club’s approach to summer transfers and the perceived failure by fans when it came to signing needle-moving players ahead of next season, via Scott Wilson of The Northern Echo.

Most of all, there are serious concerns related to the forward and striker depth entering the new Premier League campaign considering only Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson are on NUFC’s roster and the latter is the only one of those two who can be considered a bonafide, natural no. 9.

“With Alex and Callum hopefully both being fit for the majority of the season and carrying that attacking load together, then when you have a sum of money to spend, you’re logically not going to spend a huge sum of money in that position when you have other positions that maybe require a bit more investment,” said Howe. “It’s a very difficult balance.”

Despite the anticipation of further signings, Howe acknowledged the need for player sales to comply with Premier League financial regulations and pretty much left every Magpie fan cold with his statements.

“I don’t think PSR is going to change drastically for us, short term, but there’s going to be a period where, yes of course we can recruit, although there’s got to be a balance to that,” Howe said. “We’re going to have to bring in income as well. We’re managing that very delicately. We’ll try to get it right, but through the period of time that I’m going to be here, I’m sure there’s going to have to be outgoings as well to balance it up the other way.”

Howe sounded happy with his roster, which is highly worrying considering he mentioned Emil Krafth as a legitimate player he will consider giving minutes next season. Which… huh!?

“We’re slightly light on numbers (at center-half),” Howe said. “Emil has done a really good job during pre-season, playing inside from his normal full-back position, and he has the capability of doing that. We have very good players in there, but, naturally, when you lose players like Sven (Botman) and Jamaal (Lascelles) for the length of the time we have, that was a big dent in the middle of our defense. It’s two huge losses. I think the lads that came in at the back end of last season did very well, but it’s certainly an area we’re looking at.”

Howe also made clear his determination to keep his and Newcastle’s key players in tow for the long run, including Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon, and Isak, whom he described as the “crown jewels” of the squad. However, the situation is different for Kieran Trippier, who is in the final year of his contract and could depart the club, reportedly by signing with West Ham if the London club submits the proper bid in the next few days.

“I see Kieran as a huge part of the team,” Howe said. “But with Financial Fair Play affecting us, there’s always a possibility that anyone could leave. We want to keep our best players, but there will be outgoings to balance things financially.”