Aside from their early season wobble and an injury crisis that couldn’t have been foreseen, Newcastle United should be pretty happy with how their 2023/24 campaign is panning out.
If they’re knocked out of the Champions League, the penalty decision in the PSG game won’t have helped but, ultimately, the two losses to Borussia Dortmund will have been key.
Aside from the excitement of their first campaign in European football’s premier competition for over 20 years, there’s the bread and butter of the Premier League.
Currently sat in seventh place, the Magpies are only seven points from Arsenal at the top of the table.
As long there are no more long-term injuries to key players, there’s no reason why the squad can’t push on in the new year, particularly if they’re able to make a signing or two.
There may be players that look to leave too, and Football Insider note that only a £20m-£25m offer would tempt Newcastle to part with Jacob Murphy.
The outlet suggest that both Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest could be interested in acquiring Murphy in January, however, the player himself is understood not to be pushing for a move.
With Howe needing all hands on deck at present, it’s unlikely the club will brief others that Murphy is available either, albeit if Newcastle’s apparent valuation is met, some serious thinking will need to be done at St. James’ Park.