Back in late May after the end of the 2023/24 Premier League season, I asked the question – Who are the most important Newcastle United players?
When it comes to buying and selling this summer, who could (should?) Eddie Howe be trading?
Inevitably, some Newcastle United players will leave, which is normal for any club every summer, to make room for and help allow new signings to come in, as well as assist this happening when it comes to finances…
So what were/are the options when it comes to trading out Newcastle United players this summer, to help bring in the wanted/essential new signings?
So I have revisited my article from 28 May 2024 to see in which order I listed our various members of the squad, in terms of how invaluable (or not…) they are.
Obviously, things really hotting up since my article two months ago, a number of players having already left this summer, whilst plenty of speculation surrounding the futures of a number of other Newcastle United players.
So where did I rank them back in May 2024 compared to the rest of the NUFC squad?
All of the current Newcastle United players in order of importance, as we prepare for the 2024/25 season (as at 28 May 2024):
Alexander Isak
Bruno Guimaraes
Anthony Gordon
Sandro Tonali
Joelinton
Nick Pope
Sven Botman
Joe Willock
Lewis Hall
Tino Livramento
Harvey Barnes
Elliot Anderson
Fabian Schar
Dan Burn
Callum Wilson
Sean Longstaff
Miguel Almiron
Lewis Miley
Yankuba Minteh
Jacob Murphy
Jamaal Lascelles
Martin Dubravka
Matt Targett
Emil Krafth
Harrison Ashby
Bottom nine
Jamal Lewis
Garang Kuol
Matt Ritchie
Paul Dummett
Loris Karius
Mark Gillespie
Ryan Fraser
Isaac Hayden
Jeff Hendrick
Always interesting to check back on what you thought/said/wrote in the past and none of these players who have left, or are currently speculated as potentially leaving, were in my top eleven that I thought needed to be kept two months ago.
However, Elliot Anderson was 12th on my list and Yankuba Minteh 20th, then we have also seen Matt Ritchie (29th on my list), Paul Dummett (30th) and Loris Karius (31st) leave.
I think a case of keeping things in perspective.
As we all know, the short-term PSR issue forced the sales of Anderson and Minteh, not ideal but not a disaster.
Which to me would have been the case of one of Newcastle’s very best key players, a Bruno or an Isak had been sacrificed to solve that PSR problem.
Eddie Howe has built an excellent first team and to a degree, an excellent squad.
