Here are the latest Newcastle United headlines for Monday, May 29, 2023.
Gordon's big summer
Anthony Gordon has opened up on his 'difficult' start to life with Newcastle United and admits he has got a 'big summer' ahead. The former Everton forwar has struggled for form and game-time since making the mid-season move to St James' Park.
Gordon opened his account in black-and-white with the opening goal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, poking Elliot Anderson's low cross beyond Kepa. The 22-year-old, who will represent England's under-21s at the European Championships next month, could not hide his delight in his celebration and later admitted the emotion was a response to a tricky time so far on Tyneside.
He told NUFC TV: "It's been so difficult because of the level I was at coming in, the level of the lads here was so much higher. I had such an uphill battle to match them, obviously I had the injury, and I always felt like I was chasing.
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"I feel like I had a lot to do, and it was hard mentally and physically. Now, I feel like I've got a big, big summer coming up to put myself in position for next year.
"I've got the under-21 Euros, so physically I'm going to be so on it like never before. Out there [today], I'm absolutely blowing!
"In this team you have to be so fit, the gaffer demands so much from the players. That's something I probably didn't expect or didn't know, but I know for next year so I'll be on it."
Dubravka's Howe conversation
Martin Dubravka has revealed he held an "open conversation" with Eddie Howe about his future but has hinted he could yet stay at St James' Park.
The Slovakia international signed off for the season with a man of the match performance away to Chelsea but knows that Nick Pope has established himself as number 1 now. However, the long-serving keeper could get extra game-time next season with Europe and two domestic cup competitions to consider.
Dubravka said after the game: "I think it’s normal everyone who has ambition wants to play. But I’m still part of the journey and part of the team which is successful.
"I don’t know what’s going to happen after the summer, obviously. I had a conversation with Eddie. We had an open conversation about the future.
"It’s hard to say now, because it’s the end of the season now, and no-one really knows what will happen. It’s hard to give you some answers. Now I just want to switch off. I have two international game to focus on. That’s my priority now.”
Howe hints at exciting Newcastle summer vision
Eddie Howe will join his players in jetting off for an end of season break in the coming days. However, the Newcastle United boss won't be far from his phone during that fortnight away with his wife and sons as he bids to ensure his side are ready for the new campaign.
Work has already started. Newcastle have been planning for the summer window for several months now and Howe held discussions with the owners about the club's transfer budget in London on Saturday night. The Newcastle boss certainly knows where he stands before the window opens.
Yet this will be a summer of evolution rather than revolution once more. The reality is that the majority of the current squad will still be at the club come the start of the new season, knowing full well that they have to raise their game again to build on a memorable campaign. As Howe put it, the 'most important people at the football club are the players we already have' before the Newcastle head coach outlined his vision for the first day of the new campaign.
"The players that we have currently have to be fit and ready to go and they have to be ready to prove how good we are all over again," he told reporters. "We start at zero next season. That's a healthy way to look at it. We have to prove ourselves all over again. If we can add one or two players that make the difference in the transfer market, that would be good news."
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