Last season was a glorious one for Newcastle United.
There were jubilant scenes at Wembley, as the Toon lifted the Carabao Cup to secure their first trophy in 70 years, before they secured a Champions League birth on the final game of the season after missing out on their place amongst European football’s elite the season prior.
Last time they were in the Champions League they suffered from fixture congestion and were burnt out by the end of the season, ultimately getting knocked out in the group stage and missing out on European football altogether.
This season, the objective is to avoid the mistakes of their last attempt, and enjoy a Champions League run whilst also maintaining a successful Premier League campaign.
However, this task will not be straightforward, as the Toon have had a frustrating summer on the transfer front, as after they missed out on several key targets, star striker Alexander Isak started training alone in a bid to force a move to Premier League champions Liverpool.
Throughout his reign in charge, Eddie Howe has shown his ability to successfully manage Newcastle United.
However, this season may be his toughest to date if Newcastle are to compete and thrive on multiple fronts.
2024/25 Season Recap
Written by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere
Last season started uneasily for Newcastle United. There was no European football to contend with in the diary, nor the number of injuries from the year before, but the PSR pinch and the idea of Eddie Howe being the new **England**manager were two talking points that created doubt around the club.
Indeed, by the start of December, a 4-2 defeat to **Brentford**had dumped the Toon down to the 12th position in the Premier League table. However, there was a desire to prove that the top four finish and Carabao Cup run of 2023 was not a flash in the pan. The response from the team was emphatic.
Six straight wins around the turn of the year pulled the team into fourth spot. At the end of that streak, 2-0 victories home and away against **Arsenal**booked a spot in the Carabao Cup final. Inconsistency again crept into their Premier League results, but the Toon would not allow this chance to slip away.
They banished the demons of the 2-0 loss to **Man United**with a 2-1 triumph over eventual league champions Liverpool. It was their first trophy since 1969 and their first domestic title for 70 years.
The celebrations would not cease. A further five wins in a row across March and April propelled the team into the top three. Even though the Magpies picked up no points in their last two fixtures of the Premier League schedule, they had done enough to finish fifth and return to the Champions League.
Transfer Activity
Newcastle United have had a frustrating transfer window this summer, as Eddie Howe hasn’t yet been able to add the quality or the depth to his squad that he would have wanted ahead of the upcoming campaign.
The window started in frustrating fashion, as reports from Fabrizio Romano suggested that Joao Pedro, Noni Madueke, Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Šeško all elected to reject advances from the Magpies in order to sign for Premier League rivals.
Further, talisman Alexander Isak missed the preseason tour, and he spent some time training alone in San Sebastián after Newcastle rejected a Premier League record bid from Liverpool for the Swedish international.
This saga has certainly hampered Newcastle’s preseason preparations, and the question of his future will determine whether this window is considered successful or not.
In terms of incomings, Newcastle have been relatively quiet to date.
Electric winger Anthony Elanga has been the marquee signing after his arrival from Nottingham Forest, and after the Swedish international provided 11 Premier League assists for the reds last season, he looks poised to add a dangerous threat to Newcastle’s attack.
The other major arrival has seen Aaron Ramsdale join on loan from Southampton, with an option to buy at the end of the season, as Eddie Howe looks to provide cover and competition for established numb
The only other incomings have been young wingers Antoñito Cordero and Seung-soo Park, who have joined the club as long-term investments. Cordero has already gone on loan to Belgian outfit Westerloo and Park appears set to spend the next season in the under 21’s team.
However, with current reports suggesting that Newcastle are looking into signing Yoanne Wissa, Marc Guehi, and Georgio Scalvini, the Toon may be poised to make a splash in the market towards the end of the window.
If they are able to do so, then this window may still be a success for Newcastle, and it may lay the foundations of yet another positive season.
One to Watch: Lewis Miley
Written byMatthew Shotter****
A couple of seasons ago, a young man born just under 10 miles away from St James’ Park truly announced himself to the Newcastle United faithful. His name was Lewis Miley.
The then-17-year-old took to first-team football like a duck to water, appearing far more experienced than his age would suggest, slotting into the middle of the Magpies midfield in the absence of a suspended Sandro Tonali.
Over the course of that first full season, Miley amassed over 1,200 minutes of Premier League football.
However, that was not quite the case last campaign.
The young Geordie suffered a fractured metatarsal during pre-season, and to add to his woes, Tonali returned from his lengthy ban and almost immediately established a connection with fellow central midfielders Joelinton and Bruno Guimarães.
This meant that chances to feature were few and far between, evidenced by Miley playing a measly 304 minutes in the league.
But this upcoming campaign could be a different story for the England Under-21 international.
Eddie Howe’s side find themselves back in the UEFA Champions League and will be competing on four fronts this season. The Toon Army will be hopeful of capturing more silverware after winning the EFL Cup last March, and to do that, squad rotation will be key.
Meaning the aforementioned holy trinity in Newcastle’s midfield will almost certainly have to be rested more than they were last time out: enter a hungry Lewis Miley, desperate to get back into the first team.
The 19-year-old will be raring to go the second he gets a chance to feature for his boyhood club, and will no doubt do the things that brought him such praise a few years ago: display incredible composure, deliver a wide array of passes, and show off that technical ability.
Strongest XI
Pope; Livramento, Burn, Schar, Hall; Tonali, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Elanga, Gordon, Barnes
Written by Oliver Miller
While potential new signings such as Marc Guehi may strengthen the starting XI, there is unlikely to be a heavy influx of new players before the first Premier League game of the season next weekend, where the Toon start with a challenging away fixture against Aston Villa.
The loan signing of Aaron Ramsdale has created competition to Nick Pope in goal. Pope has not been in the best form of late, and is not getting any younger, but Howe’s decision to go for Pope in Sela Cup gives an indication of who is better placed to start the season as number 1.
Despite 34 year old Kieran Trippier’s improved performances in the second half of the 2024-25 season, Tino Livramento, recently courted by Manchester City, is likely to start the season at right-back, especially after a strong showing at the U21 European Championships.
Fellow Chelsea Academy Graduate Lewis Hall set to start at left back, after recovering from his foot injury that ruled him out of the last two months of last season.
Fabian Schar is set to continue alongside Dan Burn in the centre of defence. The pair played the majority of last season together due to injury to Sven Botman, who limped off the pitch in Newcastle’s 3-2 defeat to Arsenal in Singapore, with a suspected groin injury.
The midfield trio of Sandro Tonali, in the deeper role, with Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton more advanced were a major reason in the upturn of form for the Magpies in the 24-25 season but it is a position where squad depth is thin, after Sean Longstaff was sold to Leeds, and Joe Willock now suffering a serious calf injury that will rule him out for over six weeks.
With no recognised Premier League quality striker at the club, Anthony Gordon looks set to start the season through the middle, as evidenced by the recent pre-season fixture against Tottenham, with William Osula set to be the back-up for the time being, but a potential deal Yoanne Wissa could change this.
Finally, Harvey Barnes is set to start on the left-wing, with new summer signing Anthony Elanga, lining up on the right, to complete the front three. That means despite producing a season which had 23 goals and assists in all competitions, Jacob Murphy is set to be a rotation option.
The Manager
With Eddie Howe having produced some scintillating results since his appointment at St James’ Park in November 2021, Newcastle supporters will now be very familiar with how their manager likes his team to play, as well as his tactical prowess.
Indeed, given both its previous successes and the lack of transfer activity, the Magpies may be set to play in the 4-3-3 system that they used last season and throughout their preseason campaign.
This set up relies on the prowess of midfield trio of Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton, as these three provide both quality and tenacity to the midfield which is so influential to their game.
If Newcastle are to be undermined this season, their lack of squad depth through intense fixture congestion appears destined to be the underlying issue. However, Eddie Howe has a plethora of experience in managing his team through difficult times, and he will be confident of leading his side to yet another glorious campaign.
Season Expectations
Written by Oliver Miller
Following a historic 2024-25 season for the Toon, expectations were high, but their lack of summer transfer activity and poor pre-season form, having failed to win a game on the pre-season tour of Singapore and Korea, alongside an embarrassing 4-0 loss to Celtic, has meant the mood has been dampened.
The saga around star striker **Alexander Isak**’s future has not helped matters, while other teams continue to strengthen their squad, meaning that expectations are currently much lower than at the end of last season.
Following the Magpies’ qualification for the UEFA Champions League in 2023, the 23-24 season was one to forget for the club, finishing outside the European places.
Fixture congestion alongside a mid-season injury crisis, which resulted in youngsters such as Michael Ndiweni, who now plays for Newcastle Blue Star in the ninth tier of English football, finding a space on the bench for the away fixture at Paris Saint-Germain, meant that success in the continental competition was unlikely to be on the cards.
However, fast forward two years, and the Toon appear to be in a stronger position to compete in Europe’s Premier competition.
Eddie Howe now has a stronger squad at his disposal and the new league format should ensure that continental fixtures vary in difficulty, in comparison to two years ago, when Newcastle drew a group with European Giants, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain. Therefore, the Magpies are expected to reach the knockout stages of the competition.
In domestic competition, Newcastle should be aiming for at least a Europa League place in the Premier League.
While Champions League qualification is possible, other teams have strengthened and distractions from cup competitions are likely to lead to some struggles in the Premier League, as seen in the 23-24 season, where the club dropped to ninth in the league around the New Year period.
Magpies’ fans will also be hopeful for another cup-run in either the Carabao Cup, following on from their historical triumph in the competition last season, or the FA Cup, where they have not reached the semi-finals since 2005, where they were defeated by Manchester United.