Howe's worrying £176m transfer mistakes ahead of move to mega-rich Newcastle

Eddie Howe is on the brink of penning a two-and-a-half-year deal to become the new manager at Newcastle United after a deal for former Arsenal boss Unai Emery fell through earlier this week.

With Newcastle currently winless in the league and seemingly entrenched in another relegation battle, the arrival of someone with a general nous for being able to handle life at the wrong end of the Premier League table pretty much had to be a priority.

The Magpies are now the wealthiest club in the world following their £305million Saudi-backed takeover last month.

Given Newcastle's newly found riches, it's likely that Howe will be handed an inflated transfer war chest in the New Year to overhaul a squad in need of major surgery following years of penny-pinching under Mike Ashley.

But, intriguingly, although Howe did a sterling job at Bournemouth during his eight-year spell at the club, he doesn't have the best record in the transfer market.

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And it saw fans call for former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe to replace Lennon at Celtic Park ( Image:

2020 AFC Bournemouth)

And that doesn't particularly bode well considering the 43-year-old will have cash to burn on Tyneside.

After guiding Bournemouth to the Premier League for the first time back in 2015, Howe and the Cherries' estimated net spend reportedly stands at close to £176m.

But despite that truly staggering figure, Howe's expensive new recruits let him down time and time again and were ultimately responsible as Bournemouth succumbed to the drop in 2020.

It's easy to say now with hindsight, but Howe set the tone back in the Cherries' early days in the Premier League.

The £15m deal to bring Jordon Ibe to the Vitality Stadium from Anfield was, at the time, a club-record fee for Bournemouth.

But unfortunately, the Cherries hadn't exactly picked a player worthy of that mantle.

Ibe endured an absolutely miserable four years on the south coast, netting just four times before departing last year at the end of his big four-year deal - meaning the Cherries didn't manage to recoup a single pound of the mammoth fee they had forked over back in 2016.

As far as Howe's transfers go, the decision to greenlight a big move for Ibe has to be up there as the worst of them.

Bournemouth were relegated from the Premier League in 2020 after a string of awful signings under Howe ( Image:

PA)

Unfortunately, further big-money deals have followed a similar pattern.

At a cool £25m, Lerma remains Bournemouth's club-record signing to this day.

But the fact that Lerma is now plying his trade with the Cherries in the Championship almost three-and-a-half years after his arrival pretty much best sums up that he's failed to live up to his huge price tag.

Dominic Solanke may be firing in the goals for Bournemouth now they're bidding to regain their Premier League status, but he failed to deliver in the top flight under Howe.

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He scored just three Premier League goals in over 40 appearances before the Cherries slipped through the trapdoor - which is absolutely eye-watering when you take into account that Howe splashed out £19m on the striker.

As well as Solanke and Ibe, Howe made it a hat-trick of dud signings from Liverpool with the utterly bizarre £6m deal for full-back Brad Smith back in 2016.

The Australian made just five appearances during his four years on the south coast, and like Ibe, departed on a free.

Despite concerns, it should be noted there have been successes under Howe too, such as the deals for David Brooks and Aaron Ramsdale. Any manager is going to experience hits and misses in their transfer dealings, but Howe has been burned particularly bad.

If he is to be a success on Tyneside, then Howe will have to show that he's learned from his past mistakes in the transfer market.

With their league position currently precarious, Newcastle have very little margin for error just now - something that makes Howe's appointment even more fascinating.

Jordon Ibe was one of a host of big-money flops Howe signed at Bournemouth ( Image:

EMPICS Sport)

But let's not forget, if Howe can learn from his previous mistakes in the transfer market, then Newcastle now have someone billed just a few years back as a future England manager at the helm.

And the exciting, attractive brand of football he was known for at Bournemouth will go down a treat with a fanbase who have endured a truly torrid few years under Ashley.

Football's a funny game. Had Newcastle appointed Howe a couple of years ago, it would have been a coup. It feels almost a tad harsh that it's still not perceived as one despite his 15-month absence from the game.

Regardless of his questionable spending splurges, Howe has long deserved a crack at a big job.

And let's face it, they don't come much bigger than Newcastle right now.