Regardless of how the remainder of the 2025/26 season plays out for Newcastle United, it’s fair to say that the upcoming summer transfer window has to be a transitional one.
Whilst Eddie Howe has come under scrutiny for matters on the pitch throughout the campaign, I think most supporters would agree that the majority of issues the club has faced have been off the field.
After ending the first trophy winning season of a generation (or three) on the high of a second Champions League qualification in as many years, it was incomprehensible that United would walk into the first pre-season friendly of the new campaign with no director of football, a single singing in Anthony Elanga, and their best player and cup final winning goalscorer on strike – none of which can be blamed on Howe.
With the addition of David Hopkinson as the club’s new CEO, a man with experience at the very top and keen to put his mark on NUFC, alongside Howe’s close ally Ross Wilson as the club’s new DOF – you would expect a calmer, planned and far less chaotic summer than the one previous.
However, that doesn’t just involve incomings. One of the few things Newcastle have struggled with since the PIF led consortium took over has been maximising the profit on players leaving the club. Naturally, selling a £125m striker has played its part in easing the dreaded PSR strain seemingly any club with ambition finds itself fighting against. But with the biggest sales underneath that barely scratching £30m, I think fans could be about to see the biggest revolving door of transfers in the club’s recent history.
With that in mind, I have taken a look at five players facing an uncertain future at the club, this summer and beyond.
1. Kieran Trippier
In years to come, Keiran Trippier’s name will be up there with the Shearer’s and the Milburn’s of Newcastle United. A man who left a title fighting Atletico Madrid side under one of Europe’s greatest managers to join a Newcastle side who looked destined for the Championship. Trippier will always be remembered as the first player who took a chance on the project – and I’m unsure even he would have envisaged that he would be holding silverware for the club just three years later.
Despite this, now aged 35, he would probably concede his best days are behind him. Seemingly out of the side whenever Tino Livramento is fit, Trippier has struggled for gametime in the last year or so and hasn’t impressed when his opportunities have arisen, mostly as he seems to no longer have the yard of pace he once did.
At full back, pace is pretty much a non-negotiable these days, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was given a handshake and a massive thank you, but moved on to pastures new in the summer now he is at the end of his contract. Perhaps a final hurrah in the MLS or Saudi Pro League could be on the cards? He remains a club legend, but now deserves his big payday and life in the sun.
2. Nick Pope
I could probably find myself calling each player in this list a club legend and not be ridiculed for it given each has achieved what most of us considered unthinkable a few years ago. Despite Nick Pope probably being one of the most divisive players in the fanbase, it can’t be argued that United’s first cup winning goalkeeper of the last seven decades isn’t one.
Pope has more than played his part since his arrival – and if you consider the £10m fee that brought him here, it’s definitely been value for money – even if he’d only ever produced that Champions League sealing wonder-save against Leicester!
However, his limitations now seem to harm his reputation ever so slightly. The need to play with the ball at your feet seems silly for a position where shot stopping is your bread and butter, but its unfortunately becoming necessary in the modern game and ultimately Howe needs a ball playing goalkeeper to compliment the way he wants to play out from the back.
With Pope being out of contract in 2027, I believe now is the time to allow a young, up and coming number one to serve under him for a season. Pope knows what it takes to be a very good stopper at this level and that will be a real bonus on the training pitch and in the cups – but I think a data-led summer driven by Ross Wilson sees a new No.1 arrive at St James’ Park.
3. William Osula
It’s quite difficult to put a tag on Will Osula, because for every time his energetic bursts and busyness give you the impression there is absolutely a player in there – we just haven’t seen enough of him.
And for a manager in Eddie Howe, who has had no issues giving youth a go in his system (the likes of Elliot Anderson and Lewis Miley pay testament to Howe’s willingness to play his youth), you’d probably bet there is a reason for that.
Last season, you’d concede that most strikers in the Premier League would have found it difficult to displace Alexander Isak from the starting XI. But in a campaign where Nick Woltemade hasn’t quite gelled in the way some would have liked (I personally believe the criticism of Nick has been incredibly harsh) and Yoane Wissa just hasn’t got going – I think it says a lot that Howe would sooner play Anthony Gordon, a winger, through the middle.
I do get the fear that Osula is going to be one of those players who goes elsewhere and ends up being excellent, because it would just be our luck and has happened many times. But in a world of PSR where Frankfurt may be willing to pay £30m for a player that has been limited to ten minute cameos; can Newcastle really afford to turn that down?
If I’d have written this article six months ago, I don’t think that there would have been much of a debate on whether or not to cash in on a player who probably hasn’t played his best football for Newcastle for the best part of two seasons.
However, the Willock debate intrigues me now for two reasons. One being that he has been one of the best players on the pitch for the last few months and seems to look fitter than he ever has. Willock is the prime example to me of a confidence player – he thrives on support and when he gets it, he’s much more ambitious with his play.
The second reason is this is a man who quite clearly adores Newcastle United, and whilst I get there is no room for sentiment in football, he can still be a useful squad player. If he’s fit and firing (big if), do you get a better back up option than him?
With the absence of Bruno now for some time, and the rumours of Tonali’s potential departure in summer, is the £20m PSR headroom really enough to sanction the sale of a bloke who will run through brick walls for the club and plays in a position we are currently light in?
I end my list on a player who possibly represents the best value for money the club has ever seen. Bought for £3m under Rafa Benitez, it will have been inconceivable at the time that Fabian Schar would go on to make more than 250 appearances, score the greatest Champions League goal St James’ Park has ever witnessed, and lift silverware. That is some innings for a player who was tasked to simply keep the club in the Premier League, and nothing more, on his arrival.
For a man who fell out of favour under Steve Bruce and was seemingly being pushed out the door, his transformation under Eddie Howe is up there with one of the best storylines since the takeover.
However, like Trippier, the years aren’t being kind to him. The 34-year-old currently sits out with a serious foot injury that required surgery, and his place in the starting 11 is under threat now £30m summer addition Malick Thiaw has taken his spot.
So, will Schar be given his final hurrah with one more new deal? Depending on how he recovers, I think the club should look to maybe give him another year. Speed has never been Schar’s selling point and despite his age he remains a calm, composed, elite level centre back who the club could do a lot worse for when seeking cover for Thiaw.
All in all, it promises to be an eventful summer on Tyneside. We have yet to see a transfer window under the watch of Hopkinson and Wilson, both of whom you’d imagine will be keen to look at the mistakes that were made last summer and ensure that under their stewardship it’s a different story.
Newcastle can’t afford another summer of chaos off the pitch, because as we’ve seen at times this season, it often filters onto it.