Newcastle fans here in the bar at the Football Transfer Tavern are buzzing to see what the Premier League brings them next season.
Rafael Benitez’s successful campaign in the Championship saw the Magpies experience a comfortable route back up to the Premier League, despite the race for the league title going down to the wire with fellow promoted side Brighton and Hove Albion.
Alongside this, having a manager of Benitez’s pedigree at the helm has all but quashed the talk in the Tavern that Newcastle could be relegated this season.
Benitez is also the perfect manager to build a squad fit for the Premier League and our landlord certainly believes that the visit of Tottenham Hotspur will be a welcome change to last season, and it will be a real test for the Magpies to face a side with real Premier League pedigree.
Our resident Geordies agree and they really are looking forward to playing a side such as Spurs, and our landlord has outlined some things that the Magpies should expect from their team on the opening day of the season.
Let’s take a look at our landlord’s thoughts…
A resurgent Spurs side
Not only will Spurs be hurting from their lacklustre end to last season but they will also be wanting to right the wrongs of the last time they visited St James’ Park.
The fixture was, incidentally, the Magpies’ last game in the Premier League and a Georginio Wijnaldum double saw them record a 5-1 victory over Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
Our landlord feels that Poch would not have forgotten this either and he expects a tough start to the season for Rafa Benitez’s men,
Gayle to prove himself
Dwight Gayle was instrumental in firing Newcastle back into the Premier League and our landlord feels that Gayle will have a point to prove following his Palace stint which yielded just 15 goals across 3 seasons.
In contrast, his 23 goals in the Championship last season has shown that he has the quality to step up in the Premier League, and this season will go a long way to him proving himself according to the Magpie fans in the Tavern.
