Newcastle United are set to begin a new era under Matthias Jaissle after parting ways with Eddie Howe, ending the English manager’s five-year spell at the club.
The Magpies have made several changes to their squad following a disappointing campaign last season. High-profile departures include Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon, while Newcastle have reinvested in young players such as Bazoumana Toure, Aladji Bamba, Lukas Hornicek, Sean Steur and Ewen Jaouen.
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With the new Premier League season approaching, Newcastle will also be monitoring their players’ fitness. Lewis Miley suffered a broken leg in training in May, while Tino Livramento sustained a serious calf injury during England’s World Cup campaign in June.
According to the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope, Miley is expected to be fit for Newcastle’s opening game against Liverpool, although the fixture could come too soon for Livramento, who has been continuing his rehabilitation in the United States.
Livramento’s potential absence could be a concern for Newcastle, particularly following Kieran Trippier’s move to Wolves. The 22-year-old is currently the club’s only established right-back.
It remains to be seen whether Newcastle will look to strengthen the position if Livramento is unable to regain full fitness before the start of the season.
Liverpool are also facing defensive issues ahead of the new season, with Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni expected to miss the start of the campaign.
In their absence, and with Jeremy Jacquet also unavailable, captain Virgil van Dijk partnered teenager Ifeanyi Ndukwe at centre-back against AS Monaco.
However, Andoni Iraola expects Jacquet to return for Liverpool’s final pre-season friendly against Serie A side Como at Anfield this Sunday.
The 21-year-old has yet to feature in any of Liverpool’s warm-up matches since joining from Rennes in a £60million deal. The transfer was agreed in the winter window but was completed this summer.
Jacquet began pre-season after recovering from a serious shoulder injury but has recently been sidelined by a minor knee problem, prompting Liverpool to take a cautious approach with his recovery.
“We were in doubt whether to put Jeremy in today, but he should be fine for the next one,” Iraola told LFCTV following Sunday’s 3-2 home friendly defeat to Monaco. “It’s taking a bit more time than we were expecting.”