DERBY day blues have made way for international break reflection. At the time of writing, England has played out a typically dull 1-1 draw against Uruguay, with a match-up against Japan to follow on March 31.
It’s nice to see a record six Newcastle players (Anthony Gordon, Dan Burn, Lewis Hall, Tino Livramento, Aaron Ramsdale and Harvey Barnes) called up for the March international break 35-man squad – with at least three set to make Thomas Tuchel’s final 26-man group for the 2026 World Cup – but it’s time to turn attention back to Newcastle United‘s currently ill fated season.
Nearing the end of the campaign, the Premier League table is still in flux; unusually, at this stage, around a dozen teams are still vying for coveted European qualification places.
Aside from Manchester City and Crystal Palace, who each have eight games remaining, all other teams have seven matchdays still to come, with Newcastle sitting in 12th on 42 points, four points off a European spot and Everton in eighth.
Lewis Hall has trained with former Newcastle starlet Elliot Anderson this week on international duty (Image: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire)
Throughout the campaign, transfer rumours have swirled around the club – overwhelmingly more so with goings than comings. Talk of exits started unusually early, with players being linked away well before chocolates were ripped out of overpriced Advent calendars.
Throughout the season, this has frustrated club officials and fans, eager to avoid a repeat of the Alexander Isak debacle of the summer of 2025.
Currently, it seems like every man and their dog have been linked with Newcastle’s key players. I’ve read that Lewis Hall is jetting off to Barcelona, Anthony Gordon has set his sights on a return to Merseyside and a move to his boyhood club Liverpool, Tino Livramento has rejected Newcastle’s contract approaches and will sign for Manchester City, Bruno Guimaraes is keen to join Manchester United – perennial whiner Bruno Fernandes is pushing through the deal – and Sandro Tonali is, well… signing for everyone, apparently.
I’d estimate 95% – and that’s being kind – of these transfer rumours have very little if any truth to them, with many originating from dubiously sourced, clickbait sites that profit from stirring the pot.
What’s irritating is that when these rumours get picked up by the established mainstream media, players will undoubtedly become distracted, and sometimes worse, unsettled.
I’m by no means equating Newcastle’s relatively poor domestic campaign to these rumours. They haven’t unravelled the season, but they haven’t helped matters.
Agents, of course, play their part in events. At the start of February, reports in The Athletic suggested that Tonali’s agent Giuseppe Riso had offered him to Arsenal on winter deadline day, a claim later denied by Riso in an interview with Sky Italia.
In interviews with Italian outlets, Riso has, however, since talked about “evaluating things in the summer” and said Newcastle would only consider a sale if they were “open to anything”, which keeps the door to an exit firmly ajar.
I wouldn’t like to see it happen, but I do think there is a possibility that Tonali could go. What does work against the rumours is that, with three years left on his deal, the player would demand a large transfer fee, something that many clubs, particularly, if rumours are to be believed, his reportedly favoured Italian sides can’t afford.
Eddie Howe has already rubbished “nonsense” reports that skipper Bruno Guimaraes is in advanced talks with Manchester United over a summer move (Image: Steve Welsh/PA Wire)
Livramento, similarly, could move on, as I do think the links, particularly with Manchester City, have legs. I feel more indifferent to his exit – as a young player with a serious knee injury history, moving him on at the right price might not be the worst idea.
Gordon’s links are much more tentative, but Liverpool have shown a strong interest in the past. I think he has just about reached his ceiling, and again, I wouldn’t be distressed if he were to move on for the right money.
Continued success has so far brought more, not less, talk of big player exits, which I suspect will only exacerbate as the Magpies continue to disrupt the ‘Big Six’ while not being aligned on commercial transfer revenue and thus spending power.
Be that as it may, Guimaraes and Hall I do think are untouchable, and I do think rumours linking them away are in fact just that.
After last summer’s transfer catastrophe, new sporting director Ross Wilson should add much‑needed poise to Newcastle’s dealings, but fans should still brace for another window where online exit talk swamps the club.
To add to the uncertainty, in a controversial new interview with the Press Association, chief executive David Hopkinson has thrown Eddie Howe’s future into doubt.
Speaking as the club released its latest financial figures, Hopkinson said Newcastle do not have any immediate plans to replace Howe, while making no guarantees he will resume his position next season.
“Eddie’s our manager. I expect to have a great run to the end of the season here, and we’ll talk about the future when it’s time,” he said.
“We are not looking to make a change at the moment. We are not having those conversations.
“We are still in the midst of the season. Right now, we are focused on the seven matches we have remaining and not distracting ourselves with speculation about what we may or may not do in the summer.”
Hopkinson’s flamboyant address to the media has added fuel to the fire of an already scorched season, which is threatening to go up in flames. The pressure is now firmly on Howe and his players to deliver in the final seven matches and reach Europe once again.