Two-week Newcastle to-do list for Eddie Howe: Transfer moves made, forgotten talents battle for their future
With Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall leading the charge, Newcastle United’s players and staff will return to Tyneside on Monday as they get ready for another Champions League run, and possibly even a run for the championship.
Incoming and outgoing deals will hopefully be made, futures are on the line, and the unsung staff working behind the scenes will try to make sure United has the greatest possible start to the summer. When Howe returns early on Monday from his well-earned vacation, what will be on his to-do list?
Even though most Newcastle players will be back at Benton on Monday, there will be a few noteworthy absences as those currently serving abroad take a long vacation. Big names like William Osula, Tino Livramento, Bruno Guimaraes, and Anthony Gordon have been given more leave, and Howe, performance director James Bunce, and head of performance Dan Hodges will test out the available senior players.
Howe has frequently used the adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” to try to maintain preseason training schedules largely constant. Following the season’s last match, players received personalised and meticulously designed summer training schedules, and senior players were spotted spending some of their vacation time on the training pitch across the globe.
The first few days of preseason are anticipated to be dominated by individual training, with a lot of gym work scheduled. In the upcoming weeks, we’ll also talk about season expectations.
Newcastle will try to safeguard the players who are recovering from injuries in the meantime. Lewis Hall is back on the pitch but probably won’t be totally healthy until the later part of preseason, while Joelinton is expected to resume full training as early as next week following a knee injury. Newcastle will return to play north of the border in only two weeks. Will there be some new faces at the entrance by then? Well, we certainly hope so for the sake of a nervous fan base.
Newcastle has begun making moves at last, with 14 days until the season’s opening friendly. James Trafford and Anthony Elanga have improved in recent weeks, and Howe is eager to bolster both ends of the pitch.
Although Burnley and Nottingham Forest have not yet agreed on fees, the Magpies are still negotiating and their confidence in the transactions is building. It appears that £85 million will be sufficient to acquire both of the main targets. Internally, there is optimism that some interesting new players could be added before Newcastle departs for Singapore and South Korea later this month.In the upcoming weeks, everyone will be watching for the comebacks of Sandro Tonali and Alexander Isak, but there will also be forgotten figures returning to Tyneside with uncertain futures. As usual, Howe will utilise the preseason to determine who will and won’t be included in his August 25-man Premier League team.
Next week, players like Harrison Ashby and Joe White, who were shipped out on loan during the previous season and are nearing a career turning point, will return to Benton. Alex Murphy, Garang Kuol, Matt Targett, and Odysseas Vlachodimos will also be unsure of their future.
But now is the ideal moment for some of United’s young players to really take off. Howe has given Trevan Sanusi, Alfie Harrison, and Murphy the opportunity to make a significant impact on their first-team credentials in previous summers.
Jamie Miley was also given first team minutes last summer, while Matty Bondswell, who is currently at Peterborough Sports, was the most impressive young player during Howe’s first Tyneside preseason. This time, who will take a stance and be counted? And even if they appear to be leaving, can any of the more seasoned stars save their future?
- In exactly two weeks’ time, the north east outfit will head to Celtic Park for their first friendly of the summer but before then, there is plenty for the backroom staff to discuss.
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