Newcastle World journalist Liam Kennedy has urged the club's new owners to prioritise bringing in senior figures with football knowledge behind the scenes.

A consortium, led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), bought the North-East club off Mike Ashley last month, but are yet to make the impact that some may have envisaged.

What's the latest news at Newcastle?

Newcastle finally appointed their new manager on Monday, when they handed former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe a contract until 2024.

The process of finding Steve Bruce's replacement went far from smoothly, though, as the club were linked with a host of names including Lucien Favre and Paulo Fonseca, plus they were rejected by Unai Emery, before they finally gave the job to Howe.

Howe now faces the difficult task of keeping Newcastle in the top-flight, with the Magpies currently five points from safety, and still without a win in their opening 11 league games.

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What has Kennedy said about Newcastle's owners?

Finally getting a permanent manager in is a step in the right direction, but Kennedy is adamant that it must only be the start. He wants the owners to hire experts in the football industry to help Newcastle push on.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “The people at the top need to quickly get a lot of people in senior positions and a lot of expertise through the door, just to get this club moving. Get this club moving like a League One club, never mind getting it moving like a Premier League club. That will have to come further down the line.”

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Are Newcastle's owners starting to make better decisions?

The whole manager fiasco was not a good look; it should not have taken over a month between the new owners coming in and Howe being announced as Bruce's successor.

Still, that issue has now been sorted, and the club could be on the verge of bringing in another key figure. According to reports, Michael Emenalo is the leading candidate to take the Director of Football role at St James' Park.

He previously worked at Chelsea as a technical director between 2011 and 2017, so has experience at the highest level. During that period, the Blues won the Premier League twice and the Champions League, highlighting how Emenalo knows what it's like to be part of a successful club.

If PIF can get a deal for Emenalo over the line, this would be a major coup, and would suggest that they are starting to make better decisions that can give Newcastle a clear sense of direction moving forwards. 

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