Mitchell accuses Ashworth of incompetence in Newcastle's transfer dealings

"I believe that entering with a preset strategy can be challenging," he remarked. "Perhaps we should consider expanding our scouting and recruitment efforts to cast a wider net. The landscape is becoming increasingly complex, where simply pouring money into signings every year and acquiring players at their peak age and price may not be sustainable. It is crucial for us to adapt and evolve in this regard, and this responsibility falls on me, the scouting team, and Eddie (Howe)."

"Is it fit for purpose? Not last winter gone, the winter before that. Is it fit for purpose in the modern game? Because other clubs that have adopted a different approach over time, with more intelligence, more data-informed than we are, actually prospered in this window. That's where we have to grow to be now.

"You look at the money we have invested up to this point, £250 million net over the last two-and-a-half years. Was our model in place to be able to spend more to the levels we would have liked to enhance the team? I don't think it was, because we haven't sold a player during that time, barring what we were forced to do through PSR. 

"We didn't have the sales window we thought we would have – and we have to look at that strategy as well, was that right? It was all aligned with the head coach. There definitely has to be a more strategic approach that we haven't had the last two-and-a-half years. I'll know whether we've done a good job in five years' time."