Here are your Newcastle United headlines for Tuesday, May 16, 2023.
Ashworth scouting mission
Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth was an interested spectator at the King Power Stadium on Monday night as Leicester City lost to Liverpool. Ashworth's brief will be kept tightly under wraps of course but there were two Newcastle targets on show in the East Midlands.
England international James Maddison was on the team sheet for Leicester alongside another player that has interested the Magpies in the past in Harvey Barnes. Newcastle bid over £50million for Maddison last summer but could not strike a deal.
Maddison would almost certainly quit Leicester if they go down but there is known interest from Tottenham Hotspur. Barnes is another target that Newcastle have looked at in the past. Barnes shares the same agency as Eddie Howe and is well known to the head coach and his staff. Ashworth is set to meet Howe for a series of transfer talks in the coming weeks as Newcastle look to whittle down their wanted list.
Klopp's Newcastle compliment
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp continues to play down his side's chances of making the top four as he heaped more praise on Newcastle United. The Reds kept the pressure on in the race for Champions League football with a clearcut win over Leicester City on Monday, moving to within one point of Manchester United and the Magpies.
Newcastle still have a game in hand over Klopp's side and can reinstate their four-point advantage with a win over Brighton at St James' Park on Thursday. Three points under the lights on Tyneside, coupled with a Liverpool defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday would be enough to guarantee Eddie Howe's side a spot at Europe's top table.
Klopp knows that time is running out and admits he isn't expecting to leapfrog Newcastle between now and the end of May. “I don’t think it’s likely (finishing in the top four) when you see how Newcastle and Manchester United play. They have so much quality," the Liverpool boss told Sky Sports. “Our job is to keep the pressure (on Newcastle United and Manchester United), but if not, this is already better than we could have expected six or seven weeks ago."
Benitez's top four prediction
Rafa Benitez believes Newcastle United have the qualities to hold on to their top-four Premier League position to qualify for next season's Champions League.
With three games remaining this season, Newcastle are in a four-team battle for the final two spots in the Premier League top-four, though they can end Brighton and Hove Albion's outside chances on Thursday if they can beat the Seagulls at St James' Park.
Manchester United and another of Benitez's former clubs Liverpool are also in the race for Champions League qualification, with the Magpies and Manchester United currently in pole positions by virtue of their respective game in hand. And while Benitez would love to see both of his former sides pip the Red Devils to third and fourth-place finishes, he believes Newcastle are the more likely of the two.
Benitez told Sky Sports: "To be in Europe means more money coming in and that means you can then sign better players. They also have the extra motivation [to come] to play in Europe. So it's massive for both clubs.
"I think right now, Newcastle United has the advantage, but you never know. Liverpool, they are doing really well now. But I think Newcastle United have the belief, they have the intensity, and also the organisation and balance that is necessary to get some points to stay there."
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