'Quite well': Eddie Howe opens up on life without Dan Ashworth at Newcastle

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has said that the club are coping 'quite well' since sporting director Dan Ashworth was placed on gardening leave.

In February, it was announced that the 52-year-old had been placed on gardening leave after expressing a desire to leave the club for Manchester United.

Two months later and the two clubs are yet to agree a deal to bring Ashworth in earlier than expected.

Any attempts by Manchester United to strike a deal have been in vain as Newcastle have dug their heels in regarding the compensation package which at one point was £20million.

Image: Newcastle United

Howe knows the role must be filled

When asked whether he would like an appointment to be made ahead of the summer transfer window, he said: "Naturally, in my opinion, a club this size has to have that role filled.

"The club will do everything to find the right person to do that.

"In the meantime, we have people in place that are filling that void and doing a very good job I have to say. We have carried on quite well with Dan's exit and the club's functioning well at the moment."

When Ashworth left, there were reports saying that he wasn't part of Howe's 'inner circle' which may explain why his exit hasn't caused too much disruption.

He was also in charge of contract negotiations for Newcastle, but wasn't able to strike a deal before leaving. Newcastle co-owner Amanda Staveley came in and got the deal done.

Consultancy firm Odgers Berndtson have been employed to help the Magpies find a replacement for Ashworth. The likes of Paolo Maldini and former Mag Hugo Viana have been linked to the role.

Howe expects a difficult summer window.

Thanks to Joelinton's new contract, Newcastle have saved a few quid and won't have to dip into the transfer market for another midfielder.

“It certainly allows us to plan with Joe as part of the squad and that is hugely important," he added. "He is versatile, can play in different positions and that takes away a bit of the stress in that respect as it means we don’t have to worry about those positions.

"It’s still going to be a slightly difficult summer to plan for. There are a lot of unknowns in the transfer market in January and I think that will carry on into the summer. We will see how that plays out. We have our plans, we are preparing for that now."