Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley wanted to share some of the post-game magic moments with two players the club would like to stay next season after the stunning victory over Arsenal.
As the players made their way around the pitch for a final night lap of appreciation the Ripon financier ensured that both Sean Longstaff and Matt Targett knew what it felt like to feel big parts of a special night. Staveley hugged both players on a night in which left-back Targett was serenaded by the Gallowgate End.
Head coach Eddie Howe said last week he was hopeful that Longstaff would put pen to paper on a new contract while the club will activate a buyout clause on Targett with Aston Villa IF personal terms can be agreed. Getting Targett signed up would be a quick and early deal ahead of an intriguing summer.
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Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi are keen to add Targett to the squad on a permanent basis next season and if they do manage to get the deal done early it will allow them to move on to other potential signings across the pitch. However, on an emotional night this could be the last time fans see some players with question marks over squad members such as Matt Ritchie, Dwight Gayle, Ciaran Clark and Federico Fernandez to name just a few.
What is certain though is that Newcastle will emerge with a stronger looking squad for the 2022/23 season and Howe knows that the hard work starts now. When asked if United would run out at St James' Park with an improved squad, Howe said afterwards: "We have to work to improve in the summer. We're a massive club with big ambitions but my job is to focus on how we do it rather than talk."
Newcastle's 46-point tally is their best since promotion in 2017 and you would have to go back as far as 2014 for the last time they finished with 49 points - something that could yet be achieved by beating Burnley. But whatever happens, United fans left St James' feeling excited about the future again.
That was something that didn't even feel conceivable last October just days before the takeover and in the aftermath of a stale and hopeless 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Since then, however, the club have gone from strength to strength and the owners' enthusiasm to be out on the pitch celebrating with players and fans alike made SJP feel like a different club to the one that kicked off last August.
