Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe will be chewing on his pencil over the November international break as he works toward solutions that are so badly needed.
Fortunes have gone somewhat askew at St. James’ Park this season, with the club’s away form laying waste to Howe’s hopes of progress after a testing summer transfer window.
But it may be that the ramifications of that Alexander Isak-dominated summer are still being felt. However, tactically, things aren’t right, and the wider struggle of the summer market has led to the current issues which must be overcome if the Magpies hope to make it another positive campaign.
Where PIF have gone wrong in the transfer window
Newcastle have fallen by the wayside, but it’s hardly too late for them to pick themselves back up. But there’s no question that PIF have to learn from their recent transfer struggles, with those brilliant windows of Howe’s early reign something of a distant memory.
In 2024, Newcastle failed to sign a right-sided forward, a glaring gap in the squad. That has now been amended through the £55m addition of Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest, but Elanga has blanked across 16 matches for the club, and with concerns over his form, questions must be raised over the extensive scouting that led to his signature being obtained.
Interestingly, Nick Woltemade’s fine form at centre-forward has eased the Isak blow, and before the season, that would have been viewed as the biggest issue. Newcastle’s attacking problems stretch more toward the creative side, with Anthony Gordon joining Elanga in having failed to register a goal contribution in the Premier League this season.
For a team whose 97 big chances created were bettered only by Liverpool in 2023/24, this is a real concern. This year, United have only created 14 from 11 matches, placing them 12th for that statistic. Gordon and Elanga must be doing a lot more, with the recruitment having felt they had hit the jackpot when shaping this wide duo.
While Newcastle have added exciting talents to their ranks this summer, Malick Thiaw and Jacob Ramsey among those with plenty of scope for growth, this is frankly an ageing squad and one whose freshen-up needs to go a lot further.
Tactical issues this season have been suggestive of this, and considering the company Newcastle are keeping in regard to the average age of their starting 11, it wouldn’t be unfair to suggest that younger profiles are needed for balance and continuity.
Everton
13th
28.0
Aston Villa
6th
27.9
Newcastle
14th
27.6
Fulham
15th
27.6
Burnley
17th
27.1
The need for depth and quality on the defensive flanks is alarming. Kieran Trippier at right-back is 35 years old and out of contract at the end of the season, and Tino Livramento has been unfit at times and deployed as a makeshift left-back at others.
This is largely because of Lewis Hall’s own unavailability this season. But with the 22-year-old drawing strength and fitness once again, we are turned toward the situation of one of Howe’s mainstays.
The Newcastle star now on borrowed time
Newcastle comprise players of myriads shapes and sizes and skills. Some are renowned as being among the best in the world, but some are of a shrewder nature, like Dan Burn, who returned home from Brighton for around £12m at the start of the manager’s reign and has since become one of his mainstays.
After all, it is only the skipper, Bruno Guimaraes, who has featured more prominently for Howe’s Newcastle than him.
1
Bruno Guimaraes
170
2
Dan Burn
165
3
Fabian Schar
163
4
Jacob Murphy
150
5
Joelinton
145
The 32-year-old has done more than endear himself to the Toon fanbase since arriving, but he’s getting on a bit and has been guilty of some suspect performances at left-back this season.
Naturally a central defender, Burn ranks against Premier League full-backs this term among the bottom 6% for shot-creating actions, the bottom 29% for progressive passes and the bottom 4% for progressive carries per 90, as per FBref.
In the first five matches of the season, he was in the centre. Six appearances since have seen the England international deployed as a left-back, and this is inhibiting Newcastle’s flow and overarching connectivity.
Quite simply, Burn is not a natural left-back, even though he has played ample football in the moonlit role. He is a centre-back. 6 foot 6 and cool and composed.
Hall is far more dynamic and energetic in his role, and this will not only widen and add a dimension to Newcastle’s backline, but it could revive the likes of Gordon up ahead.
The boy from Blyth has been a revelation at Newcastle, and, pound for pound, “one of Newcastle’s best signings” since Howe arrived, as has been said by reporter Andy Sixsmith. A small fee and an immortalising contribution at Wembley last season have made sure of that.
But Howe will be putting a spoke in his own wheel if he continues to persist with Burn on the flank, limiting his side’s progression and mobility and dynamism at the back.
With this in mind, the modern legend might find himself slipping into his obscurity over the coming months, and perhaps that will lead to a departure to make way for this new chapter on Tyneside.
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