PAUL MITCHELL understands why Eddie Howe continues to be strongly linked with the England manager’s job, but Newcastle United’s sporting director insists he is unperturbed by the prospect of the Football Association making a formal approach for the Magpies head coach.

England return to action for the first time since the Euros on Saturday with Lee Carsley in temporary charge following the departure of Gareth Southgate, but while the former Under-21s boss has a chance of taking over on a permanent boss, the FA are taking a pause before appointing a full-time boss.

Howe is widely regarded as one of the leading domestic candidates for the role, along with former Chelsea boss Graham Potter, with the Newcastle boss having previously spoken about the esteem in which he holds the job of England manager.

Given his achievements with both Newcastle and Bournemouth, Mitchell is not surprised that Howe continues to be linked with a move into international management with his home country, regarding the FA’s interest as proof that the Magpies have an elite head coach.

He failed to rule out the possibility of Howe leaving Tyneside if the FA came calling, although it is believed Newcastle would be due a hefty compensation package worth more than £5m given that Howe is contracted to 2027.

“The way I look at interest in general is that it’s proof that someone’s doing a really great job,” said Mitchell. “I think Eddie has said this, and I’m no different, we’re both proud Englishmen. I think Eddie getting recognised with a job like that, because of the work he’s done, is fair recognition for the really good job that he’s done.

“We want Eddie Howe as our head coach for as long as we can. But we also recognise we are on a journey, and we also recognise his quality and his potential as well.

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“Once again, I’ve never been a guy scared of interest in any of our staff members, especially our head coach, and especially from a level of organisation that the FA is. As an Englishman, I am proud. And I think it’s a recognition of the two-and-a-half years he’s had here and the job he did at Bournemouth. It’s a really good practioner being recognised for what he’s done.”

Mitchell’s relationship with Howe has been in the spotlight ever since the former Tottenham, RB Leipzig and Tottenham chief was appointed as Dan Ashworth’s successor at the start of July.

Howe addressed the resultant shift in recruitment boundaries during Newcastle’s pre-season training camp in Germany, stating that “he had to feel comfortable” and that the “dynamic had to be right” in order for him to remain in his role.

Mitchell is keen to downplay any suggestion of an ongoing rift between the pair, insisting their relationship is good, and has become even stronger over the course of a testing summer. Howe suggested last week that he has been playing a more “hands-off role” with regard to transfer matters, but Mitchell has painted a different picture of the situation.

“Contrary to opinion, we speak every night more or less, and every day a minimum of once, on all different topics," he said. "I think this idea that me and Eddie haven’t spoken all the way through the transfer window is false.

"All the way right up to the last minutes, he is fully updated and involved. We speak literally an hour a night. If we aren’t able to physically communicate, we’ll use WhatsApp.

"He’ll get regular updates from me - this is happening, this looks like it’s happening, this player is going on loan. We speak one hour every evening if we can’t see each other during the day - this is what has happened today, 'This is where we are with a potential player, where we are with the current exit strategy'. For me, that is a healthy level of communication."