Howe speaks out on Newcastle's chances of signing Neymar and Ronaldo - 'incredible players'

Eddie Howe has played down links to Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar as he believes Newcastle United must first unearth future superstars.

The Magpies have been at the center of big money move speculation since Amanda Staveley's Saudi-backed consortium completed its takeover in late 2021.

Newcastle have invested over £250m in new players over the last three transfer windows, but have been touted as suitors for both Ronaldo and Neymar in recent days.

Asked about the possibility of some of the world's best players ever plying their trade at Tyneside, head coach Howe - who has consistently cited financial fair play as a limiting factor in the club's recruitment plans - said said: "It's best to find them out before they explode onto the world stage.

"We might not be able to offer these players because they are the best players in the world.

"We will never be able to afford these transfer fees and salaries right now, so we have to go below and find them young and develop them into the players they can be."

The Magpies' deals to date have been shrewd, with Nick Pope and Kieran Trippier arriving for relatively modest fees ahead of bigger investment in Bruno Guimaraes, Sven Botman, Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon.

But, having guided the club to third place in the Premier League table ahead of Sunday's showdown with titleholders Arsenal, Howe knows it is inevitable that they will be linked with bigger names .

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Asked about Ronaldo and Neymar, he replied: "That kind of speculation has been around since day one since the takeover, really. Naturally everyone assumed then that the biggest names in world football would go to Newcastle.< /p>

"Now we haven't recruited that way. Financially, we can't recruit that way at the moment, but we also need to get the right people and players into the squad.

"I will say the transfer market is such a complex decision, you can't just pick a name and bring them in. It takes a lot of thought about what we are doing both financially and looking at the players.< /p>

"These two players are incredible players. We are linked with different names.

"I know where I want to take the team and what we can and cannot do in the transfer market."

Howe's comments came amid reports that Lionel Messi could command a £320m-a-year package - £15m more than what Staveley and his partners paid for Newcastle - if he chooses to move to the Saudi Arabian Pro League this summer.

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