Eddie Howe has confirmed that Bruno Guimaraes, Fabian Schar, Miguel Almiron, and Martin Dubravka will join the squad in Japan ahead of tomorrow’s flight. After today’s 2-0 victory at Hull City, Howe also shared that Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon will return the following week, having been given an extended break following England’s run to the Euro 2024 final.
Reflecting on the pre-season win at the MKM Stadium – where Alexander Isak and Jacob Murphy scored – Howe remarked that it was a challenging match against a team “slightly ahead of us physically.” He felt the team performed particularly well in the first half before numerous substitutions in the second half.
“I think it was a good game, a tough game for us,” Howe said. “They are slightly ahead of us physically and play very differently tactically compared to most teams – they had a lot of interesting strategies.
“It took us probably 10 minutes to adjust even though we knew what to expect. I thought we played very well in the first half. The second half was harder to judge due to all the changes.”
When asked about the delay in signings and the new dynamics behind the scenes, Howe noted that recent recruitment meetings focus on “collaboration” rather than having the final say. He also admitted that the PSR has been a frustrating aspect of a slow summer transfer window.
