Newcastle United fans here in the bar at the Football Transfer Tavern are coming out of the international break looking forward to the return of the Premier League.

Their win last time out against the Hammers was the Magpies’ first win of the season following a disastrous start which saw Benitez’s men go down 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur which was followed by a lacklustre performance in their second game in which they lost to fellow new boys Huddersfield Town.

These results paired with the lack of activity in the transfer window did worry the Newcastle fans in the Tavern, however, with a manager having the pedigree of Rafa Benitez and a squad that is still full to the brim, the Geordies in the Tavern believe things are on the up for their side.

However, some of the Magpies in the Tavern are still not confident and they would like to see some players given more chances to shine before they deliver the verdict on whether their squad can hack it in the Premier League.

Our landlord, as ever, has listened in on the discussion and he has outlined two players that Benitez must give a chance too.

Check them out here…

Aleksandar Mitrovic

Following his impact from the bench in the 3-0 drubbing of West Ham, many in the Tavern are saying that Mitrovic simply must be given more minutes – after his ban – by Benitez as he seems to be a Premier League quality striker.

The Serbian’s attitude seems to always be in question but if he can produce a certain amount of goals and keep the Magpies up, then it’ll be worth dealing with Mitrovic in order to be a successful football club – especially seeing the Benitez has little to no backing from the owners to really go and buy a quality striker.

Rolando Aarons

One of the bright sparks in Newcastle’s defeat to Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup earlier this season, many in the Tavern want to see more of Rolando Aarons in a Newcastle shirt.

Consistency has been the winger’s issue but the Magpies in the Tavern believe that Aarons needs to be given minutes should Christian Atsu or Matt Richie go down later on in the season. If this happens, Aarons needs to have been given game time beforehand so that he can step up.