Exclusive: Howey can’t understand why Bruce has been handed such a small budget | OneFootball

After a very strong end to the season, Steve Bruce and Newcastle United fans would have expected to improve their team this summer but with a £10 million budget that will be less likely to happen, and former Toon defender Steve Howey can’t understand why Bruce has been handed such a small transfer kitty.

Bruce faced a similar problem last summer where he had to beg and plead with Mike Ashley to spend some money on a striker, and the club truly reaped the rewards as Callum Wilson’s 12 goals were ultimately the difference between staying up and being relegated.

However, Ashley does not appear to either trust or want to back Bruce despite the former Sunderland boss guiding the Magpies to two relatively comfortable finishes in the Premier League.

Bruce is set to have a tiny transfer budget of £10 million this summer which will get you very little nowadays and Howey can’t understand why the budget is that considering where the club finished in the league, something he spoke exclusively to Football FanCast about:

“I find it puzzling why the budget is so small, considering how much money the club will get. Yes, I do understand about the pandemic and losses but, the club will be getting a lot of money for where they finished in the Premier League last season.

“I understand that you can’t use all of that money because of the situation with COVID but I think people are pretty surprised at how limited the budget really is.”

Mike Ashley may well be scarred from signing Joelinton for £40 million back in 2019, however, after some astute scouting and signings last summer, surely Ashley can trust Bruce’s judgement on players this year.

It could be a case of Bruce having to sell before he can make any significant signings, one in particular being Joe Willock who was a huge hit during his short spell on Tyneside.