Jurgen Klopp has predicted that Newcastle United will break into the top six if Eddie Howe is given time because the Magpies have 'everything' they need to do so.
You have to go back to 2012 for the last time Newcastle qualified for Europe for the one and only occasion in the Ashley era, but it was not so long ago that the black-and-whites were regularly mixing it with Liverpool et al at the top end of the Premier League. In fact, between 1994 and 2006, Newcastle finished in the top six on eight occasions.
Newcastle narrowly missed out on a place in the top 10 last season following a remarkable turnaround in the second half of the campaign and the club's new owners ultimately want to upset the established order in the coming years. Wednesday night's trip to Anfield to face Liverpool will be the latest acid test, but Klopp is sure Newcastle will get there one day.
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"They will be if Eddie gets time and stuff like this," the Liverpool boss told reporters. "I'm not sure if they need another transfer window, but if he gets time for it, they definitely will be.
"That's the football world. When you're winning, it's completely fine. Newcastle is a great club and has had a lot of success in the past but, for a few years, not much anymore. They now have everything you need to be a top six club."
Newcastle have actually gone unbeaten in their first four games of the campaign for the first time since the Magpies last qualified for the Europa League in 2012. There is a long way to go, of course, but only Liverpool, Man City and Spurs have picked up more points in the Premier League so far in 2022.
This Newcastle side is certainly unrecognisable from the one that faced Liverpool at Anfield in the corresponding fixture last December. More than £200m has been spent since then on a number of signings, including Alexander Isak, Sven Botman, Nick Pope, Bruno Guimaraes and Kieran Trippier, and Klopp has been impressed.
"Since Eddie has been there, they have got an awful lot of points," he added. "They played a really good second part of the season. Since he's been there, they have been really stable, difficult for us to play against. They are a threat - that's how it is.
"With Isak, they have brought in a really good player. Not only him. Botman. Bruno Guimaraes last year. Smart signings, good signings. [Chris] Wood, an absolute machine up front. If Callum Wilson can't play, each team would recognise that because he's really a top-class striker. They are a completely different animal."
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