Newcastle United brought in five players for a total of around £85 million in the January transfer window in a bid to secure their Premier League safety.
With the Magpies currently sat in 18th place in the league, Eddie Howe's side wasted no time in their first transfer window under new ownership, completing the signings of Dan Burn, Matt Targett and Chris Wood from fellow Premier League clubs as well as bringing in Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes from abroad.
There was a major focus on defensive reinforcements for the Magpies in January, and all five of the new signings are expected to play a major part in their efforts to remain in the top division.
So, what could happen in the remainder of the 2021/22 Premier League season for Newcastle?
Could their big-spending be enough to stay in the Premier League, or will the Magpies remain in the relegation zone?
Let’s see what happened!
We simulated Newcastle's remaining 2021/22 Premier League season
To simulate the remainder of the season, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to update all teams, managers and playing squads of all Premier League teams. We then simulated from the end of the January transfer window in-game until the end of the 2021/22 season.
We used the Football Manager 2022 editor to replicate the current Premier League table as it is in real life, with the correct results for every fixture so far in the 2021/22 season. All in-game statistics shown from our simulated season are taken between February 1st, 2021 to May 31st, 2021.
Callum Wilson was the standout performer in the remainder of Newcastle's season but new signings Bruno Guimaraes, Matt Targett, Chris Wood, Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn all impressed under Howe as the Magpies battled relegation.
Wilson scored 10 goals for Newcastle in all competitions, with the majority coming in the Premier League, supported by five goals each from new signing Chris Wood and Allan Saint-Maximin.
Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes made an instant impact at St. James' Park, registering eight assists in the Premier League, showing his brilliant passing and chance creation qualities after being thrust straight into the starting lineup by Eddie Howe.
Guimaraes also recorded a pass completion rate of 94%, the highest of any Newcastle midfielder and matched the likes of Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier as Howe further implemented his possession-based play style on Tyneside.
Targett and Trippier proved to be solid additions in the full-back areas, with the latter registering three assists after joining from Atletico Madrid, whilst the Aston Villa loanee averaged the highest match rating (7.22) out of any Newcastle player, ahead of Wilson (7.20), Guimaraes (7.15), Miguel Almiron (7.15) and Martin Dubravka (7.04).
Newcastle picked up a crucial 3-1 win against Brentford in their race for survival, with new signing Chris Wood scoring a memorable hat-trick as the Tyneside club came from behind to take all three points after Vitaly Janelt opened the scoring in the 7th minute for the hosts.
Howe's side went on to earn a point at home to Arsenal, but threw away a 2-0 lead after Isaac Hayden and Wilson put the Magpies in a commanding position before half-time. Arsenal responded with goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah as the fight for Premier League safety continued to the final day.
Chris Wood scored a late equaliser against his former side Burnley on the final day of the season with Newcastle needing a point to secure their Premier League status for the 2022/23 season, after Wood's former strike partner Ashley Barnes put the hosts 1-0 up in the 21st minute, before Charlie Taylor was sent off for a poor challenge on Saint-Maximin.
At the end of the 2021/22 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best Newcastle XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics.
This is how the best Newcastle XI looked in 2021/22 according to FM22.
Full Newcastle best XI (4-3-3): Dubravka; Trippier, Lascelles, Burn, Targett; Shelvey, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Fraser, Saint-Maximin, Wood.
Chris Wood features ahead of the Callum Wilson in Newcastle's best XI for the 2021/22 season after Wilson suffered a long-term injury and picked up a series of knocks between February and April.
All of the Magpies' January signings featured in the best XI, with Targett, Burn and Trippier joining Lascelles in defence, whilst Guimaraes partnered Shelvey and Joelinton in midfield.
Here’s how the 2021/22 Premier League table looked at the end of May 2022.
Newcastle avoided relegation from the Premier League as they finished 17th, a single point above Brentford.
The Magpies new signings were able to support the current crop of players and turn their form around as Howe's side picked up five wins and four draws, moving above Brentford and securing Premier League safety for another season.
Newcastle only conceded 25 goals in their remaining 17 fixtures, highlighting the improvement made by the additions of Trippier, Targett, Burn and Guimaraes, particularly considering Howe's side conceded 43 prior to their arrival.
Overall, Newcastle's January signings were able to make a significant impact in helping the Magpies survive relegation from the Premier League as Howe's side finish a single point above the drop zone.
Wood, Guimaraes, Targett, Trippier and Burn all impressed under Howe and were crucial in key performances such as the 3-1 win away to Brentford, 2-2 draw to Arsenal and 1-1 draw away at Burnley on the final day.
Would you be happy with this outcome at the end of the 2021/22 Premier League campaign? Let us know in the comments below!
