Patrick Kluivert believes Newcastle United team spirit could see them challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title next season.
The former Magpies striker was looking ahead to the new season when he named his former club as a potential title contender, admitting he was a big fan of the work that manager Eddie Howe has done at St James' Park. It follows an excellent season that saw Newcastle claim a top-four finish to return to the Champions League next season.
And while most experts have tended to focus on whether the Magpies' squad will be able to maintain their domestic form next season while stretched and playing in Europe too, Kluivert has tipped Newcastle to continue their upward trajectory. That said, despite being a huge fan of former Barcelona team-mate Pep Guardiola, Kluivert admits he hopes to see any number of Premier League clubs challenge, to ensure City don't move too far ahead of the rest of the pack after their historic treble-winning campaign.
Kluivert told Guillem Balague for JohnnyBet: "Everybody knows that Pep is a fantastic coach, he also has the ability to make his team. He’s got money to buy the players and he has got the vision to see what players he wants in his team to make his style of play. So I think for Pep, he not only did it with Barcelona and also Bayern Munich, but now also with Manchester City for such a long time.
"I take my hat off to him, you need to give him the credit to maximise the potential of all players he has in his team. I think Manchester City has the team, the philosophy but I think other teams are coming and knocking on the door as well. As we just said, Arsenal were very close to winning the title in England. Next year they will be there as well.
"Of course, Newcastle did a fantastic job, Howe having a team structure that if you look at the team there is not one star who is standing out, its really one team and I fancy seeing them challenge. They’ve got a really strong team.
"I really think that Arsenal will, I hope Chelsea will also next year because it was a devastating year for Chelsea of course. But normally Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle, name them... Liverpool, they need to do something because if not, Manchester City will keep on going.
"I think with all the big teams we have in the Premier League, next year for sure I think you will have more making life more difficult for Man City. Manchester United as well need to improve and I think they will as well so I think next year will be a very interesting sight to see how the other teams are coping with the strength of Man City."
Patrick Kluivert, who had one season at Newcastle in which he netted 13 goals, is an ambassador for the social network for sports fans and tipsters, JohnnyBet. Watch his full interview with leading European football expert Guillem Balague here.
