Simon Jordan has suggested Newcastle United could be the most intriguing story ahead of the 2025/26 Premier League season.
The new Premier League fixtures have been released, with Eddie Howe’s side starting the campaign off with a tricky away trip to Aston Villa. After that, Newcastle United are set to entertain Premier League champions Liverpool at St James’ Park.
It is a tough start to the season for Newcastle United, but that is nothing to fear. The Magpies are a match for anyone under Howe, and the challenging fixtures represent an opportunity for them to lay down a real marker.
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe encourages his team during a Premier League game against Manchester City.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
‘Intriguing’ Newcastle United will aim to push further up the Premier League
After winning a trophy and qualifying for the Champions League, Newcastle United will aim to continue on an upward trajectory. To do that, they need to strengthen their squad during the transfer window.
That is something that former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan expects to happen now that the Magpies have got their finances in order after the 2024 PSR debacle.
Speaking on TalkSPORT on Wednesday, Jordan suggested there is a lot of intrigue surrounding Newcastle ahead of the new Premier League season.
“I think the answer to the question is where is there not an intriguing story?” he said.
“Look around the league. Look at all the teams that are in there. Look at Newcastle. Newcastle are now in the Champions League. They have got the spending restrictions probably back into play now and they can go again hard.
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“Are they going to push further up the league?”
The problem Newcastle United must overcome during the 2025/26 Premier League season
As Jordan says, Newcastle United are back in the Champions League. Qualifying for Europe’s biggest competition was a remarkable achievement, especially given the fact that no major signings arrived at St James’ Park during the 2024 summer transfer window. In fact, Howe’s squad actually got weaker midway through the season when Miguel Almiron and Lloyd Kelly left.
While they relied on a favour from Manchester United, the Magpies were able to get over the line and finish fifth to book their place in the 2025/26 Champions League.
That creates a problem that Howe must overcome. When Newcastle were in the Champions League during the 2023/24 season, they were unable to cope with the demands. Injuries piled up, as a threadbare squad collapsed under the pressure.
Howe will have learned from what happened last time. He will know that he needs a deeper squad in order to rotate more. He will also know how to prepare more effectively, as his side brace themselves for an extra eight midweek matches.
Balancing their European commitments with the Premier League proved to be impossible in 2023/24. Howe must find a solution in 2025/26 for it to be another successful season.