What Can Lift the Mood on Tyneside? Positives to Hold onto Ahead of the New Season
Let’s not sugarcoat it. It’s been a frustrating summer on Tyneside. Expectations were high after Champions League football returned to St James’ Park, but instead of building momentum, the transfer window has felt more like a series of missteps and near misses.
Newcastle United have failed to land several high-profile targets. Liam Delap and Joao Pedro chose pastures new. Hugo Ekitike slipped through the net again. James Trafford, once seen as a long-term goalkeeping solution, went elsewhere. Even the links that persist, Aaron Ramsdale among them, haven’t exactly got pulses racing across the North East. For many fans, there’s a creeping sense of deja vu.
But amid the disappointment, one question looms large, what can lift the mood on Tyneside? What can reignite belief ahead of the 2025–26 season?
We’ll attempt to answer that.
Hall and Livramento: Fit, Fired Up, and Ready
If there’s been one major positive from preseason, it’s the clean bill of health for two of Newcastle’s most exciting young full-backs. Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento both spent chunks of last season on the sidelines. Now, they look sharp, strong, and – crucially – another year wiser.
Hall, whilst not yet featuring in any pre-season games, is hoping to pick up where he left off before injury curtailed his season. His confidence on the ball and ability to progress play was missed in the final part of last season. Livramento, equally, brings pace, composure, and dynamism to the right, and when he’s fully unleashed, Newcastle look like a very different beast. These are players who make the team better simply by being on the pitch.
Lewis Miley: Grown, Ready, and Gliding
If last season was a pause, this could be the breakout. Lewis Miley has come back from the summer looking like a different player, physically stronger, mentally sharper. He’s filled out his frame, but kept the elegant control and vision that made fans sit up.
In preseason, he’s been a standout. Against Celtic and Arsenal, he looked like a player ready to dictate tempo, not just play a supporting role. There’s a growing feeling inside the club that this is his year, and with the additional European games, he may have a significant role to play over the course of the season.
Murphy’s Momentum and the Elanga Challenge
Jacob Murphy’s goal against Arsenal in Singapore, a sweet left-footed strike from the edge of the box, was a reminder of what he brings: energy, unpredictability, and goals from wide areas. He finished last season well and has picked up right where he left off.
With the arrival of Anthony Elanga, competition on the wing is real , but that might be exactly what Murphy needs. The 29-year-old looks determined to make the right-wing spot his own, and if he can keep up this level of end product, he might just succeed.
Yasir’s Shadow Looms, and That Might Be a Good Thing
Behind the scenes, there are signs the ownership are anything but content with the status quo. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, chairman of Newcastle United and governor of the PIF, is understood to be taking a more hands-on role in recent weeks.
Sources indicate he’s been directly involved in key meetings and is far from pleased with how the transfer window has unfolded. In previous windows, his intervention has led to progress, quick progress. Fans will hope that history repeats itself.
Deals could yet be done. The right additions are still out there. The money exists. Yes signings were wanted early and yes key targets have gone elsewhere, but if good players arrive, even late into the window, the disappointing early months of the transfer window will soon be forgotten.
Eddie Howe: Still the Right Man in the Right Job
Finally, one constant remains. In Eddie Howe, Newcastle have a manager who continues to work wonders, even when he shouldn’t have to. Despite injuries, a thin squad, and fixture congestion, he led the club to a top five finish and brought Champions League nights back to Tyneside.
He will be expecting more support. So will the fans. But with a full squad, key players fit, and the experience of a Champions League campaign under his belt, there is still reason for optimism.
This hasn’t been the summer many dreamed of. But the season hasn’t started yet. And in football, especially on Tyneside, things can change quickly. A few key signings and this start to look and feel very different.
There’s still time for this to become the transformational transfer window that was promised, the kind that shifts the mood, strengthens the squad, and reignites belief in where this project is heading.
