Back-to-back defeats against Liverpool and Manchester City have shown just how far Newcastle United have to go to match the elite. It’s no surprise, both have spent years spending huge amounts of money on world-class players tailored to the philosophies of their world-class managers. They are miles ahead of everyone else in the league, not just the Magpies.
But it is Newcastle who have the financial clout to get there. The Saudi-backed takeover in October made them the richest club in world football by some way, and their £90 million January window proved that the hierarchy are both willing and able to spend big money.
That investment went a long way to securing the club’s status as a Premier League team - a status that is now a surety following Leeds United’s 3-0 defeat at home to Chelsea on Wednesday. But those defeats to the Premier League title challengers were not write-offs, rather a chance for Amanda Staveley and her team to see exactly where the money needs to be spent in order to challenge for European football in the near future.
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Incomings from Premier League rivals were functional - Dan Burn has been a reliable addition in defence, Chris Wood a committed presence upfront and Matt Targett a dependable full-back - but the side’s weaknesses were laid bare as some of the best players in the world took advantage.
Here are three areas exploited by those tough tests and what Newcastle need to improve them.
A reliable goalscorer
Newcastle only conceded one at home to Liverpool before shipping five at a rampant Manchester City, but one aspect remained a constant in both: they failed to score.
As solid as both defences are, rarely were they challenged with the kind of runs or hold up play that a world-class forward can offer, and when chances came - namely Wood’s early header at Man City - a killer instinct lacked.
Newcastle’s form has often ebbed and flowed in line with their exploits in front of goal. Their three consecutive defeats to Chelsea, Everton and Tottenham saw them blank twice, and they have failed to score more than once in 26 of their 36 league games.
Callum Wilson has proved a reliable goalscorer but he is far from reliable in terms of fitness, while Wood’s signing was a short-term fix for a problem that needs to be properly addressed in the summer.
The Magpies have been linked with Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, who has 13 goals in 25 games, but Benfica’s Darwin Nunez could also prove a dependable Premier League goalscorer - he has 26 goals in 28 games in Portugal and bagged six goals in 10 Champions League games.
A young centre-back
Newcastle chiefs made a world-class centre-back a priority in January, but failed to finalise deals for either Lille’s Sven Botman or Seville’s Diego Carlos. They need to follow through on that priority in the summer, with the current back-line evidently lacking that quality against Liverpool and Man City.
The arrival of Burn was the first significant improvement in defence for four years, but the 30-year-old is another short-term addition and actually adds to the problem of an ageing defence. Against Liverpool, Eddie Howe’s backline had an average age of 28, with the addition of Jamaal Lascelles for the trip to the Etihad lowering it slightly to 27.5.
Against the speed of movement coming from their opponent’s forwards - Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Raheem Sterling - the Magpies defence simply could not cope, retreating deeper into their own box.
The 22-year-old Botman would be an ideal addition, with 20-year-old Sporting Lisbon defender Goncalo Inacio another eye-catching talent.
A commanding defensive midfielder
Since Eddie Howe’s arrival, Jonjo Shelvey has been a brilliant servant in the deep-lying midfield role, but he is not a specialist in that position and neither is anyone in the Newcastle squad, except possibly Isaac Hayden. Against Man City, Howe opted for a midfield three of Bruno Guimaraes, Sean Longstaff and Joelinton which was overrun.
When Newcastle look to their two previous opponents, they see Liverpool with Fabinho and Man City with Rodri - here are two teams who they hope to challenge in the near future and they have probably two of the top three defensive midfielders in the world.
Those in charge need to go out in the summer and find a lynchpin who can control the middle of the park, allowing the likes of Guimaraes, Willock or Saint-Maximin to push on without worry.
Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips mastered the role under Marcelo Bielsa and would be a welcome addition to several Premier League sides, should the Whites be relegated. Tottenham’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has also been linked with a move to the north east and would prove a stable signing.
