After an incredible 2022 so far which has seen Newcastle move nine points clear of the relegation zone, the Magpies have nine games remaining to confirm their safety in the Premier League.
After struggling under former boss Steve Bruce and sitting bottom of the Premier League for parts of the season, it took until February 8, 2022 for the Magpies to finally exit the relegation zone with Eddie Howe at the helm. Now, Newcastle sit 14th in the Premier League table, closer to Aston Villa in 9th than Watford in 18th.
Premier League safety now seems all but secure at Newcastle with nine games remaining to pick up a few remaining points. After their spot in the division is secured for next season, building on the current squad in the summer transfer window will become the priority.
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So, what could happen in the remainder of the 2021/22 Premier League season and in the summer transfer window for Newcastle? Could Newcastle claim a mid-table finish and confirm safety? Will they spend big in the transfer window? Let’s see what happened!
Newcastle's remaining 2021/22 Premier League games and summer transfer window simulated
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 beginning of April in-game until the end of the summer transfer window.
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 April 1, 2022 from September 1, 2022.
During the nine games, Newcastle scored 12 goals, with the goals coming from four different players. Saint-Maximin was the most prolific scorer at the club during the final stage of the season, with the French winger scoring five goals and grabbing two assists in eight appearances.
Chris Wood grabbed three goals in five starts and three appearances off the bench, whilst Ryan Fraser and Callum Wilson both scored two each as well as registering one assist. In the final nine games, no player in the squad had more goal involvements than Saint-Maximin.
In the last nine games, Newcastle won four, drew one and lost four, tallying 13 points from a possible 27. Their four wins all came in the space of five games, with the most impressive wins coming against Tottenham and Wolves, winning 2-1 and 2-0 respectively.
A win against relegation battling Norwich pushed the Magpies further away from the drop zone, confirming their safety with four games remaining. The Magpies went on to lose three consecutive games against Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, and a 1-1 draw with Burnley on the final day of the season confirmed the Magpies' final position in the table.
After a strong second half of the season, Newcastle finished 13th in the Premier League for the 2021/22 campaign. Despite being so close to the drop zone for such a long period during the season, Howe's side finished 12 points away from 18th place, with Watford, Burnley and Norwich all dropping into the Championship.
So, after securing safety in the league, how did the Magpies do in the summer transfer window ahead of the 2022/23 season? In their first summer with Howe in charge and new ownership, Newcastle spent £99m on new additions to their squad.
The Magpies spent £53m on Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey, just one season after the Jamaican joined Villa from Bayer Leverkusen. Noussair Mazraoui signed for £24.5m from Ajax to improve the defence, midfielder Wilmar Barrios joined for £11.75 from Zenit, Renato Sanches signed for just £5.5m due to his contract running out, and Paulo Otavio joined for £4m from Wolfsburg to add depth to the backline.
Christian Eriksen joined on a free transfer after a strong few months with Brentford, and youngster James Trafford joined from Man City. The Magpies also collected £8.75m in sales, with Matt Ritchie, Emil Krafth and Jonjo Shelvey all leaving on permanent deals.
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