Newcastle United evening headlines as Magpies look for more signings plus Longstaff boost
All the latest Newcastle United news as the Magpies prepare for their Premier League opener with Aston Villa
Here are the latest Newcastle United headlines for Wednesday, August 9, 2023.
Transfer support
Newcastle United are not finished yet in the transfer window as they look to add another layer of cover to their squad.
A centre-back is the next target on the list for Eddie Howe but Chronicle Live understands that Eddie Howe will have the support of his board in the latter stages of the summer window if an opportunity that will benefit United arises before the deadline. Howe had stated on Friday he wanted "two more" players in the build-up to the latest arrival of Tino Livramento coming through the door. Yet he did not state if that was before or after the Southampton man's arrival.
Howe, who has three senior signings on board in Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes and Livramento, has played down talk of an underwhelming window and said: "If you could have given me this position at the start of the summer I'd have taken it."
Longstaff boost
Eddie Howe says that Sean Longstaff remains a candidate to start the clash against Aston Villa on Saturday night despite his pre-season injury setback.
Longstaff picked up an abductor injury during training in Atlanta and did not feature in the Premier League Summer Series. But Longstaff did play 75 minutes against Villarreal and will now be assessed by Howe in training in the build-up to the Premier League curtain raiser.
When asked about Longstaff's chances of being part of his midfield three on Saturday against Villa, Howe said: "It was a big boost for him and a big boost for us. "Because he’s such an important player.
"He’s done very limited training during pre-season. "He picked up a really small niggle but when a niggle is enough to keep him out for two weeks it really can set you back. It’s a testament to his fitness levels that he’s able to get through the time he did today. Fingers crossed he feels good."