Newcastle United are certainly going places under Eddie Howe, including into European football for the first time in decades next season.
A Champions League berth was the reward for the north east giants after a season of transition that was handled expertly by Howe and his backroom staff.
With Amanda Staveley and the Saudi Public Investment Fund holding the purse strings, they’ve backed their man to the hilt in the transfer market, and he’s repaid them through his footballing nous and by guiding the Magpies to a hugely creditable Premier League finish as well as to a domestic cup final.
It’s not all good news for everyone at the club, however. For all of the success that’s been coming the Magpies way, some players have been left behind.
Club captain, Jamaal Lascelles, is one to have had a minimal impact on the team throughout 2022/23, with WhoScored noting that the 29-year-old played just 409 minutes across 13 total appearances, including as a substitute.
To that end, and as The Athletic note, Lascelles won’t be offered a new contract, and with his current one expiring in 12 months time it may best for all parties that he’s found a new home before the start of the 2023/24 campaign.
Though he hasn’t played as often as he might’ve liked of late, there’s no doubting his Premier League pedigree, and if the price is right, there’ll surely be a queue of takers for a player that still has years left in the game.