Snaking around the pitch they came. Marking both the club’s last home game of this season and their Champions League qualification, Newcastle United’s entire squad were on a St James’ Park lap of honour.
There was Emil Krafth, out injured since a torn ACL in August. Loris Karius, seen playing for the first and last time in February’s Carabao Cup final, wore a dashing pink jacket for the occasion. Only Ryan Fraser, banished to under-21s training in March, did not make an appearance.
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As Dan Burn told The Athletic last week, there is a sadness to knowing that will be the last time this group are all together. Change is the only constant — especially with the added challenge of Champions League football come September.
Though qualification for the riches of UEFA’s elite club competition has eased their financial fair play (FFP) situation, Newcastle would still like to reduce the amount of money going on wages to out-of-favour players so they can use those funds to further strengthen. On that, only five of the starting XI against Leicester City that Monday night two weeks ago were Eddie Howe signings — with three windows having passed under new ownership, Newcastle are still only in the beginnings of his era.
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“Now we’ve become a better team, there’s fewer players that will make us better,” Howe said after the Leicester game. “It’s going to be a big window for us — it won’t be huge numbers (of signings), though. We don’t have the ability to spend what people think, so we’re going to have to be very smart.”
Howe has said he would like “two XIs of equal strength” to deal with the added demands of Europe next season. But how close is he to this already? The Athletic has assessed the situation of every Newcastle player, and built two XIs from the squad as it currently stands.
Where do the club need to reinforce for their first Champions League campaign in 21 years? There’s plenty to go at.
Goalkeepers
Starting XI: Nick Pope (contract expires in 2026)
Second XI: Martin Dubravka (2025)
Others: Karl Darlow (2025), Loris Karius (2023), Mark Gillespie (2023)
Nick Pope has entrenched himself as No 1 in his first season at St James’ Park; a key figure in the joint-best defence in the league, in terms of goals conceded. Under contract for another three years, the England international will remain the starting goalkeeper next season.
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The future is less certain for long-time starter Martin Dubravka, who many around the club had believed could beat out newcomer Pope and retain his place. After losing that contest, he moved to Manchester United in a deadline-day loan last September in search of game time before returning in January. His performance against Chelsea on the final day shows what the 34-year-old Slovakia international can still offer, and while Eddie Howe wants him to stay, it is thought he is keen to explore starting opportunities elsewhere.
If Dubravka does go, the No 2 role becomes very open. Loris Karius, who dramatically deputised in the Carabao Cup final with Pope banned, Dubravka cup-tied and Karl Darlow on loan at Hull City, is out of contract at the end of this month. However, Newcastle have been happy with him and want the 29-year-old German to stay, as revealed by The Athletic earlier this week. There has also been interest in Karius from Italy.
Darlow went on loan to Hull in January and performed well, with the Championship club now hoping to sign him permanently. Mark Gillespie is another out of contract this month, but could yet re-sign. He would contribute towards meeting UEFA’s homegrown quota. To an extent, both their futures depend on whether Karius and Dubravka stay.
Needs: A No 2 goalkeeper – depending on departures.
Defenders
Starting XI: Dan Burn (2024), Sven Botman (2027), Fabian Schar (2024), Kieran Trippier (2025)
Second XI: Matt Targett (2026), Jamaal Lascelles (2024), Paul Dummett (2023), Emil Krafth (2024)
Others: Harrison Ashby (2026), Javier Manquillo (2024), Jamal Lewis (2025), Ciaran Clark (2023)
Howe’s starting back four are not going anywhere this summer. Botman joined only in 2022’s corresponding window and is signed for the long-term, while Trippier extended his contract in January. Burn and Schar, both 31 years old, could be in line for short-term extensions with their current contracts expiring after next season.
Newcastle lack centre-back depth, especially with Burn having largely played left-back this season and Lascelles not expected to be offered a contract to replace the one expiring this time next year. This window will see them try to recruit a right-sided centre-back who could eventually replace Schar.
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It is also understood Newcastle are in the market for a starting-quality left-back to add creativity down that flank. That player could either compete with Burn for the position, or allow him to slide inside as a centre-back option.
Among the back-ups, Matt Targett fits Howe’s system well, has three years remaining on his contract, and played a pivotal part in last season’s climb away from relegation trouble. However, if an offer comes in, the 27-year-old is one of the club’s few sellable non-starting XI assets. Howe said last month that he wants Paul Dummett to stay, with the long-serving, locally-born Wales international also counting towards the club’s homegrown quota.
Newcastle will make a decision on whether to renew Krafth’s deal once the right-back has fully recovered from the knee injury that has cost him almost this whole season. The Swede had already signed an extension last summer. The club will happily sell Javier Manquillo and Jamal Lewis, with neither is in Howe’s plans. Harrison Ashby is waiting to take over the reserve right-back role, having signed from West Ham on a long-term deal in January. Ciaran Clark, 33, spent this season on loan in the Championship and will not be offered a new contract.
Needs: A right centre-back and a left-back.
Midfielders
Starting XI: Bruno Guimaraes (2026), Joelinton (2025), Joe Willock (2027)
Second XI: Sean Longstaff (2025), Lewis Miley (2024*), Elliot Anderson (2026)
Others: Isaac Hayden (2026), Matty Longstaff (2023), Jeff Hendrick (2024).
The midfield has been Newcastle’s greatest strength this season — but it’s also the part of their team with the least depth.
Do not pay too much attention to where Sean Longstaff is listed above — it made the most sense to treat Joelinton as a midfielder for this exercise, meaning one of Longstaff or Joe Willock had to drop out of our starting XI. Both would play if Howe opts to play Joelinton on the left wing, as he did regularly this season.
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So, what do we know? The contract situation is relatively simple. Guimaraes, Joelinton, Willock, Sean Longstaff and Elliot Anderson are all on long-term deals and are key parts of Howe’s squad. Though every player has their price, under Dan Ashworth’s model, Newcastle have no desire to sell any of them.
Lewis Miley signed his first professional deal at the start of last month; he can then move onto a long-term contract once he turns 18 next May — hence the asterisk.
Matty Longstaff is not expected to sign a new deal, unless the club offer him short-term help to complete his rehab from a knee injury suffered while out on loan in League Two last December. Isaac Hayden and Jeff Hendrick won’t train with the first team in pre-season and are expected to be sold.
That leaves Newcastle with just five senior midfielders, plus youngster Miley. So replacements clearly need to be sought, even under the proviso that Anderson might receive more game time next season, or Anthony Gordon could drop back from a forward position.
Howe wants to see what Guimaraes can do in the No 8 role — something the player himself is also keen to explore, believing it will unlock his creativity. However, doing that would leave Newcastle without a No 6 (or a No 4, if you are a traditionalist).
In an ideal world, Newcastle want to add one starting-quality No 6, while also bringing in another player who, as with Guimaraes, can play both roles. Scott McTominay of Manchester United has been discussed as an example of a player capable of that latter demand. (The Athletic will go into more detail regarding potential targets later this week.)
In theory, that would leave Newcastle with three players capable of playing as the No 6 (the specialist new No 6, the new hybrid player and Guimaraes) and six for the twin No 8 roles (the hybrid player, Guimaraes, Willock, Sean Longstaff, Anderson and Joelinton).
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A player capable of playing both on the wing and in the No 8 role, such as RB Leipzig’s Dominik Szoboszlai, could also be an option, with Newcastle relishing positional flexibility.
Needs: A No 6 and a hybrid.
Forwards
Starting XI: Alexander Isak (2028), Callum Wilson (2024), Miguel Almiron (2026)
Second XI: Allan Saint-Maximin (2026), Anthony Gordon (2026), Jacob Murphy (2027)
Others: Ryan Fraser (2025), Chris Wood (2024), Garang Kuol (2026), Matt Ritchie (2023)
Let’s start with the players who will definitely be at St James’ Park when the summer window shuts on September 1.
Alexander Isak, Miguel Almiron, Gordon and Jacob Murphy are all on long-term contracts, and will go nowhere. It has been quite the turnaround for Murphy, who could have been seen as expendable halfway through this season. Now, he is a useful depth piece as Newcastle prepare to compete in four competitions in the next one.
Wilson’s contract expires in a year’s time. Like fellow 31-year-olds Burn and Schar, Newcastle are likely to arrange an extension, or a new short-team deal, during the coming season.
The wild card is Allan Saint-Maximin. Of players not in Howe’s starting XI, the Frenchman is Newcastle’s most valuable asset and his sale would help with FFP — allowing the club to sign high-value players this summer who fit more naturally with the team’s current style.
The counter-argument is two-fold. One is based on emotion, with Saint-Maximin a lone spark among the dampness of the Steve Bruce era. The other is practical. Newcastle face more games than ever next season, so need depth, and are also likely to face more opponents who set up in a low block. Saint-Maximin is still one of Howe’s best options to break such sides down. More information is expected on the 26-year-old’s future in the coming weeks.
Speaking of moving on, several of these players are not expected to be in the first-team squad next season.
Ryan Fraser has no future at the club, having been sent to train with the under-21 squad by Howe in March, and will be sold. Similarly, there was an obligation to buy included in Wood’s January loan move to Nottingham Forest, which will be triggered at a price of £15million ($18.7m at present exchange rates) this summer.
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The Athletic revealed in April that 18-year-old Australia international Kuol is set to go out on loan again next season as he acclimatises to European senior football, having struggled for game time at Scottish Premiership side Hearts since going there in January. This was confirmed by Howe last month. Newcastle are also close to signing Gambian teenager Yankuba Minteh from Danish club Odense, and he is expected to follow the same developmental pathway as Kuol.
The club want Ritchie to sign a new contract as free agency looms, but with his family living hundreds of miles away on England’s south coast, Howe is unsure whether the former Bournemouth wide man will take up their offer.
Newcastle have plenty of depth on the left, with Joelinton, Gordon, Isak, Saint-Maximin and Anderson. There are fewer options on the other flank, with only Almiron and Murphy (and, to an extent, Gordon), and Newcastle are in the market for a starting-quality right-winger. Ideally, as mentioned earlier, this player would also be capable of operating as a No 8.
Striker is probably the position which is closest to already matching Howe’s ‘two equally strong XIs’ ethos with Wilson and Isak both ending the season in excellent form, and successfully playing together in the same forward line.
However, Newcastle are still in the market for another young attacking option, which would allow them, should the injury bug bite Wilson again, to keep Isak on the left if tactics demand it. That player could also become a long-term replacement for Wilson as the England striker gets deeper into his thirties.
Needs: A right-winger and a striker.
What does this all show?
Newcastle’s squad, as it stands, is some way off the depth Howe feels is required to cope with playing European and domestic football at the same time. That much is clear from comparing the two XIs they currently have at their disposal — there are glaring holes at centre-back, central midfield and striker.
Sprinkle in the six potential additions we’ve detailed here, however, and the depth suddenly looks much better. An ideal summer for Newcastle would see them left with a squad not dissimilar to the one outlined in the graphic below.
The identities of those signing? Yet to be determined — but stay tuned!
(Top photo: Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)