Premier League finish, top goalscorer and season preview
Posted By Joe E
August 14, 2024
4:29 am
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Resurgence is on the menu at St. James’ Park as Newcastle United prepare for the 2024/25 season.
The Toon Army endured a whirlwind of a campaign last time out, one that peaked pretty early when Paris Saint-Germain entered the Tyneside cauldron and succumbed to a 4-1 battering. Newcastle’s Champions League journey was short-lived, and the extended schedule did no good to their domestic chances.
The injuries piled up and Eddie Howe, despite his best efforts, struggled to cope. A seventh-place finish, in the end, wasn’t disastrous, but they’ll be desperate to bounce back in 2024/25.
Here is 90min’s preview of Newcastle’s 2024/25 Premier League campaign.
The key turning point in Newcastle’s modern history occurred in October 2021 with the arrival of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. Howe subsequently arrived as manager and the club quickly embarked on an upward trajectory.
Newcastle’s swift rise culminated in their maiden Champions League berth in 20 years at the end of 2022/23, but their return to Europe’s premier club competition was brief as they failed to exit an incredibly tough group.
They’ve teased a cup run or two and came ever so close to ending their silverware drought in 2023 when they reached the EFL Cup final, but Howe’s side were beaten 2-0 by Manchester United at Wembley.
Season
League
FA Cup
EFL Cup
Europe
2023/24
7th
QF
QF
Champions League GS
2022/23
4th
R3
Runners-up
–
2021/22
11th
R3
R2
–
2020/21
12th
R3
QF
–
2019/20
13th
QF
R2
–
Harvey Barnes has changed to the #11 shirt / Masashi Hara/GettyImages
There’s been some shirt number switching on Tyneside ahead of the 2024/25 campaign. Most notably, Harvey Barnes, a summer signing in 2023, will now don the #11 shirt having worn #15 during his debut campaign.
Centre-back Lloyd Kelly has taken the #25 shirt, while Lewis Hall will retain the #20 he wore during his loan spell last season.
Impressive young midfielder Lewis Miley has not switched from his academy number (67) despite breaking through and emerging as a crucial cog in Howe’s set-up last term.
Number
Player
1
Martin Dubravka
2
Kieran Trippier
4
Sven Botman
5
Fabian Schar
6
Jamaal Lascelles
7
Joelinton
8
Sandro Tonali
9
Callum Wilson
10
Anthony Gordon
11
Harvey Barnes
13
Matt Targett
14
Alexander Isak
17
Emil Krafth
18
William Osula
19
Odysseas Vlachodimos
20
Lewis Hall
21
Tino Livramento
22
Nick Pope
23
Jacob Murphy
24
Miguel Almiron
25
Lloyd Kelly
26
John Ruddy
28
Joe Willock
29
Mark Gillespie
33
Dan Burn
35
Jamie Miley
36
Sean Longstaff
39
Bruno Guimaraes
40
Joe White
67
Lewis Miley
*Numbers subject to change before end of transfer window
In
Player
Joined From
Fee
Lewis Hall
Chelsea
£26m
Odysseas Vlachodimos
Nottingham Forest
£20m
William Osula
Sheffield United
£10m
Miodrag Pivas
FK Jedinstvo
Undisclosed
Lloyd Kelly
Bournemouth
Free transfer
John Ruddy
Birmingham
Free transfer
Out
Player
Club Joined
Fee
Elliot Anderson
Nottingham Forest
£35m
Yankuba Minteh
Brighton
£30m
Paul Dummett
Released
Free transfer
Matt Ritchie
Portsmouth
Free transfer
Loris Karius
Released
Free transfer
Jeff Hendrick
Released
Free transfer
adidas have produced their first Newcastle kits since the 2009/10 campaign. They’ve kept the home look classic and timeless with the familiar black and white stripes.
An iconic 90s look has been brought back as inspiration for the club’s away strip, and there’s no doubt this will emerge as one of the favourites of 2024/25. Supporters will certainly be content with seeing the Magpies don an absolute classic on the road this season, but there’s an all-white strip at their disposal as well.
Home kit
Anthony Gordon dons a classic black and white Newcastle home kit / James Gill – Danehouse/GettyImages
Harvey Barnes modelling Newcastle’s third kit / Nigel Roddis/GettyImages
Alexander Isak was well clear at the top of the Newcastle scoring charts last season / Etsuo Hara/GettyImages
Newcastle have crucially retained the services of stylish but equally devastating forward Alexander Isak. The Swedish international scored 25 goals in all competitions last season and was comfortably the club’s leading scorer.
Anthony Gordon was the next prolific with 12 strikes.
There may be some concerns over Isak’s injury history, but he’s ascended well beyond Callum Wilson in the depth chart and he’ll surely benefit from the absence of European football next season. Isak is certainly well-placed to enjoy another excellent season with reports suggesting he might be on the move next summer.
Newcastle’s new number 11 Barnes will surely improve upon his injury-hit debut season, but he’s unlikely to challenge the likes of Isak and Gordon at the top of the scoring charts.
Domestic football is the sole focus for Newcastle in 2024/25, but their strong competition towards the top of the Premier League table means there’s no guarantee that the Magpies will improve upon their seventh place finish from last season.
While a less demanding schedule reduces the need for a deep squad and should result in fewer injuries, there are questions over whether this Newcastle squad is talented enough to finish in the top six next season.
Their defensive issues may be mitigated by the time the summer window draws to a close, but there hasn’t been any major turnover in terms of personnel thus far. A fervent St. James’ Park will aid their tilt towards the top four and we should expect a points improvement, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Newcastle match their seventh-place finish from 2023/24 given the stiff competition that surrounds them.
Newcastle 2024/25 Premier League prediction – 7th
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