Eddie Howe, manager of Newcastle United Football Club, expressed his belief that the club’s path to success may require a more extended timeframe, citing recent challenges in the transfer market as a contributing factor.

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe acknowledges that achieving success for his club will require “a lot longer” than initially anticipated following a challenging transfer window.

When Amanda Staveley played a pivotal role in finalizing the Saudi-backed takeover of Newcastle in 2021, she confidently asserted that the Magpies could secure a Premier League title within a five to ten-year timeframe.

However, the team's advancement has stagnated since they qualified for the Champions League at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season.

Staveley divested her minority stake in Newcastle during the off-season, and although the financial backing from Saudi Arabia remains, Howe has encountered difficulties in making significant signings recently.

The Premier League's profitability and sustainability regulations have hindered efforts to bolster the squad, with Crystal Palace's England defender Marc Guehi remaining out of reach as the transfer window approached its closure on Friday evening.

When questioned on Friday about whether the club's supporters had been misled regarding future success, Howe responded, “I don’t think the dream dies, necessarily, but I think it takes a lot longer.”

“We’ve got to build our revenue streams, that is the biggest thing. We’ve got to bring more money into the football club however we do that, through player sales, through sponsorship, through loads of various things.

“That’s the big thing that we need to focus on now for the next, probably, 10 years.

“Whether I’m lucky enough to see any of that, who knows? But the dream is not over, it’s just going to take a lot, lot longer.”

The ownership of Newcastle United Football Club has invested a substantial amount of capital, exceeding £400 million ($526 million), into the squad since their arrival in Tyneside. However, it is noteworthy that only one significant acquisition has been made in the past three transfer windows, namely the acquisition of Italian midfielder Sandro Tonali.

Furthermore, manager Eddie Howe faced the necessity of selling Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh in order to comply with Premier League Squad Registration (PSR) limitations. This decision was made amidst speculation regarding the futures of key players such as Bruno Guimaraes, Alexander Isak, and Anthony Gordon.

The club’s performance during the previous season, which resulted in a seventh-place finish in the Premier League and an early exit from the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, has intensified the pressure on Howe to achieve positive results in the current campaign.

It is acknowledged that the challenges encountered in the transfer market have presented obstacles to Howe’s efforts to strengthen the team.

“I’m not going to sit here and say it’s been a brilliant transfer window for us. I think everyone will look at me and think, ‘I’m not sure he’s telling the truth there’. I do try as far as I can to tell the truth,” he said.

“But it’s not been through the want of trying from anybody’s perspective and I think for me to sit here and say that would be totally wrong as well. Everyone has tried really, really hard to improve the squad to make sure we’ve got a chance of success.”