Yankuba Minteh, Newcastle’s sporting director role and the need for clear direction

If Newcastle United had managed to convince Manchester United to part with a substantial fee for Dan Ashworth, that would have significantly aided their balance sheet before Sunday’s accounting deadline.

Ironically, if Newcastle can bridge a financial shortfall by June 30 through the potentially lucrative sale of Yankuba Minteh — who Ashworth pushed to sign last July — then the outgoing sporting director will have, indirectly, played a role in helping the club to comply with Premier League profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).

That is, or at least should be, a key part of a sporting director’s remit.

However, negotiations with Manchester United over Ashworth remain at an impasse. Newcastle technically employ a sporting director but it is in title only. Ashworth has not been actively working since February 18 when he was placed on gardening leave.

GO DEEPER

Why Newcastle are open to selling Yankuba Minteh - despite the hype

Every post-takeover transfer window has presented complications but some within the club have suggested this summer could be the most challenging — or at least rival the chaotic January of 2022 — given the scale of squad restructuring required, the PSR constraints and the quality of players needed to elevate the team.

Attempting to navigate this window without a sporting director to oversee and orchestrate football operations is far from ideal, but it is manageable.

Get the latest transfer news on The Athletic…

Newcastle are confident they have a structure to offset the absence of a sporting director, but there is a reason the club placed emphasis on recruiting a top-class operator.

The role is fundamental to present and future on-field success. It is about the long run, perhaps even more so than the immediate term, and making consequential decisions with that in mind.

The St James’ Park hierarchy recognise this and there has been an exhaustive attempt to source Ashworth’s successor. This time, the brief is subtly different, with a recruitment specialist who can develop their use of data being sought, ahead of a club builder, as Ashworth was viewed.

Odgers Berndtson, the recruitment firm, spent three months scouring the market and a shortlist was narrowed. Dougie Freedman, Crystal Palace’s sporting director, and Johannes Spors, 777 Partners Football Group’s global sporting director, made the final two.

Newcastle officials identified Freedman as their preferred choice and talks were held — but the fact he opted to remain at Palace, who have not finished higher than 10th since promotion to the Premier League in 2013, ahead of joining Newcastle sent out a worrying message.

Newcastle want to be serial trophy winners and Champions League regulars, yet Freedman turned them down, seemingly unconvinced by what was being proposed.

Freedman decided to say at Palace (Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images)

More than a month after Freedman informed Newcastle of his intention to remain with Palace on May 23, it is unclear what — or, more precisely, who — comes next.

Spors is still interested, yet Newcastle have not progressed to offering him a deal. Whether alternatives are being considered has not been confirmed, but that is the suggestion within recruitment circles.

Eddie Howe’s declaration in April that his “preference” would be for a sporting director to be “here yesterday” is becoming increasingly dated. Admittedly, the head coach caveated that by stressing he wants Newcastle to take the necessary time to find the appropriate candidate but as the club scrambles to satisfy PSR by Sunday, the lack of a sporting director is increasingly conspicuous.

GO DEEPER

How are Chelsea, Villa, Newcastle, Everton, Leicester & Forest tackling PSR deadline?

Internally, there is a desire to secure Ashworth’s replacement, but there is no sense of panic, particularly in relation to the current window.

With the addition of CEO Darren Eales, Newcastle have reverted to the transfer team that manoeuvred them through January and much of the summer of 2022.

Howe has always been heavily influential when it comes to transfers and, although his participation in the minutiae of deals decreased after the first two windows, he still holds the ultimate say.

Steve Nickson, the head of recruitment, and Andy Howe, the assistant head of recruitment, identify players, and deal with agents and clubs. The former has a master’s degree in sports directorship and both have roles that go far beyond the scouting of players.

While Amanda Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Jamie Reuben, the co-owners, have conducted many of the negotiations over several windows, Eales, too, has assumed greater responsibility for club-to-club talks.

As a collective, they have been attempting to carry out Howe’s plans for the present window and Newcastle’s intention is to end the summer with a stronger squad than they started it.

Lloyd Kelly has been secured on a free transfer and, although Newcastle missed out on Tosin Abaraiboyo and have failed with approaches for Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise, Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Max Kilman, they are determined to reinforce under-resourced areas of the team.

GO DEEPER

The Athletic 500 transfer ratings: Kelly to Newcastle United

Negotiations have been opened with Burnley for goalkeeper James Trafford and groundwork has been put in place for potential recruits in several positions, with a right winger, striker and another defender being sought.

Newcastle are in negotiations over James Trafford (Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

For outgoings, Minteh is the player Newcastle have come to believe can resolve their PSR deficit by Sunday and they are trying to conclude a deal, with Lyon presenting the most acceptable financial package.

GO DEEPER

The Transfer DealSheet: Calvert-Lewin latest, Williams state of play and Chelsea attack search

Yet, with PSR in mind, it is for those longer-term calls that a sporting director is needed. The decisions taken over the past three seasons — many by Ashworth — have led to the urgent requirement for player sales.

But what of the next PSR cycle?

The decision to release five soon-to-be-out-of-contract players next week was made without a sporting director — Howe had attempted to argue the merit of keeping Matt Ritchie and/or Paul Dummett, especially if Newcastle qualified for Europe — and, with 11 players entering the final year of their deals, calls must be made on which, if any, warrant extensions.

For those who do not, sales this summer are preferable to ensure they do not depart on free transfers. Members of the first team must also be sold to accommodate incomings and to refresh the squad.

That is not to suggest these issues are not being considered by the hierarchy — they are. But, beyond Howe’s strong input, a sporting director with specific responsibility for such matters should be providing oversight.

Although there was some disappointment in the lack of money Ashworth generated from player sales, it is the young player he pushed to sign who Newcastle hope can save them at the last from a PSR breach.

Minteh’s sudden importance underlines how a sporting director’s influence is not always evident immediately.

Even if Ashworth’s overall effectiveness at Newcastle is disputed, he was focused on the long term. The club needs his replacement to start doing the same as quickly as possible, especially if they want to avert a repeat of this PSR situation.

(Top photo: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images)