Newcastle United have been making steady progress since Eddie Howe replaced Steve Bruce in the hot seat in 2021, leading a dilapidated side back into European competition and even winning the Carabao Cup in 2025, beating Liverpool at Wembley.
The events of the past year have brought the Magpies back to earth, but Mathias Jessel was determined to successfully implement his aggressive ‘vertical’ style of football and he scored eight points from 15 points.
Rebuilding always takes time. A lot has changed on Tyneside this summer, with Howe stripped of all his superstars.
How Jaissle rebuilt Newcastle
The essence of the club may be gone, but Jessel is a new coach and he’s already starting to adapt to the fresh elements on Tyneside.
Technically, the 38-year-old is just halfway through a summer of massive change. Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães convinced Newcastle as they dropped to 12th in the Premier League.
These felt like damaging departures at the time, but the Magpies may well have done some good business. Take Sandro Tonali for example. The Italian’s start to life at Tottenham has been a disaster and Newcastle will certainly be laughing after joining for £100m.
However, the reconstruction work is going well. Sean Steur is worth £23m and Nico Gonzalez has the potential to develop into a superstar, something City thought they had landed when they brought him in from Porto 18 months ago.
Of course, this is still a work in progress and Toon needs to make further progress.
Where Newcastle still needs to improve
Sadly, Sven Botman no longer looks like the formidable centre-back he once played with such enthusiasm under Newcastle’s giant wings. Indeed, Newcastle’s defense looks porous so far this season.
The PIF successfully stymied United’s summer move to bring in Lewis Hall at left-back, but the focus on the first half and midfield rebuilding has left the defense somewhat uneven, and this has been reflected in the first phase of the season.
Newcastle United are one of four teams to have made more than one direct error leading to a goal in the Premier League this season, and it did feel like they had shut down at crucial moments.
Those things will come over time, but the Toons know they may also need to invest further in their defense, which is not the same as before. In fact, Jassel has already started to look towards the future summer transfer window.
Newcastle ready to sign new Tonali
Fabian Schaal and Dan Byrne are two of Newcastle United’s most experienced players, but neither are chickens anymore and it’s now time for technical director Ross Wilson to put the Toon defense back together.
Eddie Howe’s most used player at Newcastle | ||
|---|---|---|
player | app | Goals + assists |
Bruno Guimarães | 195 | 31 + 33 |
Dan Burns | 193 | 10+10 |
Jacob Murphy | 183 | 20+31 |
Fabian Schaal | 175 | 15+9 |
Joelinton | 172 | 25+15 |
St James’ Park needs fresh energy and perhaps Newcastle will find what they are looking for in Giorgio Scalvini, whose new contract with Atalanta in Italy has not stopped a number of Premier League suitors from accelerating their interest, according to TEAMtalk.
Back in July, reports emerged that Newcastle were in the lead to sign Scalvini, who is valued at £38m.
The 23-year-old Italy international is a dynamic, modern defender. In last season’s Serie A, he ranked in the top 6% of the league for chances created in 2025/26 and in the top 5% for dribbles per 90. Effortless athleticism and natural defensive awareness led to official inquiries from Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur this summer.
Tonali, 26, is enjoying his time at Newcastle, where his Italian passing ability and masterful ability fit right into Howe’s system. Scalvini’s impact under Jasler will be twofold: he will improve the defensive level while assisting the team’s attack organization.
Scalvini is the real deal and still has enough potential to develop into the defensive superstar Newcastle need.
Tonali has shown that exciting Italian talent can develop into something special on Tyneside and now Scalvini can follow suit as a lot of the foundations have been laid.