The last time Newcastle United played football, they celebrated a 1-0 loss against Everton in the Premier League.
That was because, owing to results elsewhere, the Magpies sealed their place in next year’s Champions League, finishing fifth. Given that Eddie Howe’s side beat Liverpool in the Carabao Cup several months earlier, the 2024/25 campaign is etched down as one of the greatest in the club’s history.
The fruits of Newcastle’s labours can be found in the £55m acquisition of Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga, and the submitted bid for Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike, whom talent scout Jacek Kulig has mused “could reach world-class striker levels”.
These are statement moves. Era-defining moves. And Howe, not one to rest on his laurels, is already planning for another.
Newcastle plan talks with Premier League star
With Liverpool formally registering their interest in Alexander Isak, Newcastle have a tough call to make. However, if that iconic talisman is plying his trade somewhere else next term, Ekitike would certainly soften the blow.
And moreover, the line of communications opened from west to east could lead to Howe getting one of Liverpool’s most talented prospects.
That’s according to Football Insider, who claim Newcastle (and Tottenham Hotspur) have entered the race to sign Harvey Elliott, who is expected to leave Anfield due to limited opportunities in Arne Slot’s system.
The 22-year-old is valued at £40m and also has interest from overseas, but Newcastle’s desire to initiate contact with the player’s representatives signals a strong curiosity about getting a deal done.
Why Newcastle want to sign Harvey Elliott
Elliott has long been regarded as one of the Premier League’s most talented young players, having featured 147 times for the Reds (notching 15 goals and 20 assists) and having won a range of prizes.
But his opportunities were reduced in Slot’s system last year, and it’s understandable that he wants a fresh start to ascend to the next level in his development.
Newcastle could give the young creative this chance, partnering him with another blooming talent in Ekitike – especially if Joe Willock leaves Tyneside, as has been mooted.
In spite of Elliott’s second-string role on Merseyside, he’s established himself good and proper. The quality is undeniable, and have Newcastle not tasted the fruits of signing an upcoming star from Liverpool in recent years?
24/25
28
5
3
23/24
53
4
14
22/23
46
5
2
21/22
11
1
0
*20/21
1
0
1
19/20
8
0
1
* Elliott spent the majority of the 2020/21 campaign on loan with Blackburn Rovers in the Championship, clinching seven goals and 11 assists across 42 matches.
Former Liverpool U18s head coach Neil Critchley once said that Elliott is capable of “some real bits of magic” on the ball, and it’s this silky style that the Magpies would add to a brood that might contain Ekitike over the coming seasons.
Such a partnership really could be a thing to be feared. The French forward’s blend of high-speed running, off-the-ball intelligence and unrelenting shooting lends itself to Elliott’s playmaking prowess.
As per FBref, Elliott ranked among the top 2% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues last season for goal contributions, the top 2% for passes attempted and the top 2% for progressive passes per 90.
For a player so frustrated out on the fringes, this isn’t bad data at all. Certainly, entrusted with a more prominent role at St. James’ Park, he could go from strength to strength.
Furthermore, the England U21 superstar also knows how to unleash a fizzling strike into the back of the net, thus widening the offensive proportions of Howe’s set-up.
Howe’s is a system built on swiftness, sharpness and success in the transition. Such flowing attacking play is something that Ekitike would thrive as the frontal piece of, but also something that Elliott could use to establish himself, settled in the middle, collecting and shepherding the ball forward.
There are many variables at play; who knows how Newcastle will shape up come the end of the summer transfer market?
However, there’s plenty of reason to be excited for those of a Magpies persuasion right now.
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