With Champions League qualification assured, here is a look at what challenges will lie ahead for Newcastle heading into 2023-24 season.
A goalless draw against Leicester tonight (22 May) proved enough for Newcastle to secure a Champions League spot for next season.
Eddie Howe’s Magpies however haven’t played in the Champions League since their Third Qualifying Round exit via penalties to Partizan Belgrade in 2003-04 season, so this will be an adventure into the unknown for the club and many young supporters.
Howe and Newcastle as a whole will therefore have various challenges to ponder during the off-season in preparation for a potential tilt at the Champions League title, so here is a look at some of the challenges which lie ahead for the Magpies this summer.
European Goalkeeping Inexperience
With next season set to mark Newcastle’s return to European action since 2012-13 Europa League campaign – plus their first Champions League adventures since 2002-03 season, it would be fair to reflect upon their lack of goalkeeping experience at UEFA competition level.
Nick Pope (pictured) is currently Newcastle’s first-choice goalkeeper and will remain so next season but the ex Burnley goalie has just one European appearance to his name – which came in 2018-19 season when with the Clarets, so could be a slight concern if Newcastle end up in a tough group.
Martin Dubravka and Loris Karius meanwhile boast 64 appearances in UEFA competitions between them but Dubravka seems out of favour, whilst Karius’ contract is set to run out at end of this season meaning that at least one if not both could leave as free agents.
Dubravka though has the better experience in terms of appearances with 39 outings in all UEFA competitions compared to Karius’ 25 such appearances, yet it is Karius who knows about helping a team go deep in the Champions League – having helped Liverpool finish runners-up in 2017-18.
Karl Darlow and Mark Gillespie meanwhile don’t have a single European appearance to their names like Pope, underlining the general lack of European experience within Newcastle’s goalkeeping options aside from Dubravka and Karius.
We also can’t ignore the fact that the average age of Newcastle’s goalkeepers is 31.25 year-old which is a small positive in terms of experience, albeit not in terms of UEFA competition experience with some Champions League teams currently having top goalkeepers in their mid 20s.
On that note, this summer could be the right window to recruit a younger goalkeeper with strong European experience, yet with one eye on developing him further into a top goalkeeper once Pope begins to approach the end of his career as a first-choice goalie.
There however is a short-term option of recruiting someone like Keylor Navas who could fill a Karius-like role, yet bring strong European experience to the team whilst providing fresh competition for Pope and Dubravka or Karius if likely one of those two stays at the club.
Gillespie and Darlow meanwhile could be moved on in order to free up transfer funds because I just can’t see them getting anywhere the first-team at present, so might as well leave to chase first-team action elsewhere – of which Gillespie is out of contract this summer anyway.
Serious questions therefore must be asked amongst Howe and his team this summer in terms of their goalkeeping line-up, and specifically their long-term plans within that section of the squad due to the age average and other factors.
Complimenting Recognised Striker Selection
Although the goalkeeping selection is a huge issue, Howe shouldn’t be fooled up front because they are lacking a proper experienced European striker – despite having a solid forward selection who have eight goals in 45 appearances between them.
It is worth noting that those eight goals came from Alexander Isak, Allan Saint Maximin and Joelinton with 44 appearances between them, whilst Anthony Gordon has made a single European appearances and Callum Wilson (pictured) is yet to play in any competitive UEFA fixture at club level.
As much as I personally expect that quintet to be a key part of Newcastle’s campaign next season on all fronts, there is surely a case for bringing in another recognised experienced striker on the European stage to compliment Isak and Wilson – of which the latter should adapt well to Champions League.
Whilst swooping for someone like Vinicius Junior or Victor Osimhen looks unlikely given a desire to focus mainly on long-term transfer signings, someone like Sadio Mane could fit as a medium-term target given his strong Premier League and European experience.
Union Saint-Gilloise’s Victor Boniface meanwhile would be an ideal long-term target and boasts strong European record at just 22 years old, with 13 goals in 22 appearances – of which five goals came in four Champions League appearances when at Norway’s Bodø/Glimt earlier this season.
Howe and Newcastle’s recruitment team though should have some exciting transfer plans in store for this summer, in order to ensure that the team is ready to challenge across four competitions next season.
Serious Possibility of Tough Group
Having not played any sort of European football in just over a decade and not featured in the Champions League for two decades, Newcastle have no UEFA club coefficient points which are based on a club’s involvement across UEFA competitions in last five seasons.
Howe’s Magpies would therefore use England’s national association coefficient points of 21,628 for their seeding in next season’s Group Stage draw, which would likely be only be good enough for pot 4 – the lowest ranked pot available in the draw.
That in-turn raises a serious possibility of Newcastle facing a tough group containing top teams like Napoli, Real Madrid, Feyenoord and possibly even Celtic, although the potential opposition per pot won’t be more clear until other European leagues complete their campaigns.
Either way, Newcastle shouldn’t expect an easy return to the European stage because they’re going to have to fight hard, given that a hard group is a near-certainty but a Group of Death could make their Champions League return even more brutal.
There however is one positive in terms of scheduling because Champions League matches take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so they won’t have to put up with a Saturday-Thursday-Sunday schedule for much of next season which many English teams have struggled to handle.
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