Prospects The Premier League’s old top six has morphed into a top eight, with Newcastle and Aston Villa joining Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea in pushing for Champions League qualification. Newcastle, after finishing fourth in 2022-23 and seventh last term, harbour real ambitions of a return to the top four and can only be aided by the lack of fixture congestion afforded by their failure in May to qualify for European football. Much as the club’s Saudi Arabian majority owners want Newcastle on the European map, they also realise that fewer matches will afford Eddie Howe more time to concentrate on his fortes: improving players and refining tactics on the training pitch. Not to mention potentially reducing the number of injured players filling the treatment room. If the recruitment of the injury-prevention specialist James Bunce as performance director should help in this respect, the imminent return of the £50m Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali after a 10-month suspension for breaches of Italian betting regulations should raise standards on the pitch. At their best, Howe’s high-tempo, hard-pressing team can overwhelm almost any opponent. Their motto, “Intensity is our identity”, is no mere soundbite. In Bruno Guimarães, Joelinton, Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak, Newcastle possess a nucleus of widely coveted players. If the return of Howe’s outstanding left-sided central defender Sven Botman at the turn of the year after an anterior cruciate ligament repair is eagerly awaited, the manager will be hoping that the England centre half Marc Guéhi completes his proposed move to Newcastle and is joined by a high-calibre right winger. Despite the Saudis’ immense wealth, Newcastle’s spending power has been restricted by the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) but, with the club’s commercial revenues starting to grow steadily, these constraints look strictly temporary. The manager Despite noises to the contrary it is not impossible that Howe could shock Tyneside by exiting stage left to join England. Nonetheless, there is plenty to keep the former Bournemouth manager on Tyneside, where the 46-year-old is on a mission to win the club’s first major trophy since the Fairs Cup in 1969 while masterminding a return to European competition. Ultra-intense, highly articulate and a bit of a control freak, Howe is a workaholic perfectionist whose principal relaxation seems to be playing the piano and watching his three sons turn out for their football teams. An excellent communicator, he commands intense loyalty from his squad and tight inner circle alike but is suspicious of outsiders. Howe’s forte is coaching but he likes to have a big say in recruitment too. Off-field picture A summertime changing of the guard at St James’ Park has seen the former directors and minority co-owners Amanda Staveley and her husband and business partner, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, depart. That, initially at least, unsettled Howe, who received about 24 hours’ notice that Paul Mitchell had been appointed as Newcastle’s sporting director. When Mitchell swiftly recruited Bunce, the normally circumspect Howe told print journalists he was worried about “boundaries” and made clear he could depart to manage England if he was not afforded the autonomy he craves. It is early days but all parties seem to have reached a rapprochement at a club 85% per cent owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, with Reuben Brothers holding the other 15%. Darren Eales is chief executive and Jamie Reuben a director but all major decisions are routed through Riyadh. The delicate balance between squad reinforcement and staying on the right side of the financial fair play rules was emphasised in late June when Newcastle narrowly avoided a potential points deduction by raising £60m via the sales of Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh on PSR deadline day. Breakout star The £10m signing of Will Osula from relegated Sheffield United has possibly underwhelmed those Newcastle fans well aware he struggled for game time last season. Yet Howe and Mitchell believe the 21-year-old, 6ft 4in Denmark Under-21s forward could soon prove an able understudy for Isak. Capable of playing across the frontline, Osula – eligible to represent Nigeria through his father – possesses welcome versatility, has a nice line in intricate stepovers and is particularly suited to a left-sided role. Mitchell feels confident Howe will bring the best out of a player whose teenage progress was slowed by illness and injury. The A-lister Sweden’s failure to qualify for Euro 2024 is regarded as a blessing in disguise by many Newcastle fans because it has afforded Isak a proper rest. Last season Howe’s key striker scored 21 goals in 30 league appearances and the sight of the rangy forward gliding past opponents became one of the campaign’s recurring images. It helps that the two-footed 24-year-old – although Isak’s right remains stronger – revels in scoring all types of goals while tempting outpaced markers to dive in. A £63m buy from Real Sociedad in August 2022, Isak is particularly adept at pressing. “Alex is unselfish,” says Howe. “He’s got the X factor about him. But it’s not about him, it’s about the team. That’s rare.” Isak is seen by some as a cross between his Sweden predecessor Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thierry Henry, but his graceful dribbling makes him stylistically much closer to the latter. Half of Europe covets his skills but, for the moment at least, he remains content on Tyneside. What they did this summer Gordon went to Germany with England for Euro 2024 but spent most of the tournament on the bench. The left-winger was possibly distracted when, at the end of June, plans were made for him to leave England’s base for a medical in Leipzig before a mooted move to Liverpool. Newcastle did not want to sell Gordon but, facing a potential 10-point deduction for breaches of PSR rules, they needed to raise £60m in a hurry. Ultimately Anderson and Minteh joined Nottingham Forest and Brighton, respectively, and Gordon stayed put. Even so, concerns linger that the Merseyside native’s head has been turned by the prospect of a move to the club he supported as a boy. Perhaps distracting thoughts of Anfield prompted the electric bike accident that left Gordon’s chin badly grazed. With the former Everton forward using his phone at the time he tumbled over the handlebars, Gareth Southgate is unlikely to have been impressed.