Prior to lifting the EFL Cup on Sunday at Wembley after defeating Liverpool 2-1, when Newcastle United lifted their last trophy in club history, the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, “Get Back” by the Beatles topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Quite a lot has happened in the 56 years since; the Women’s World Cup was founded and won by the United States four times, Apollo 11 landed on the moon, the Berlin Wall fell, the internet was created, the Saudi Public Investment Fund completed a takeover of Newcastle United and now Eddie Howe has lifted a trophy as manager of the side.
With this being such a significant moment for the Magpies, it’s important to reflect on what it means to Newcastle but Howe also said it best that it’s not about only winning one trophy this team was built for more than that
“Hopefully with one can come more,” Howe said. “There’s no guarantee but it proves we can do it. I’ve never had any doubts about our ability to lift our game but you don’t get many shots at this. Today we had to try to take our opportunity. That’s where the players delivered under pressure, so impressively. They proved that we can mix our game against the very, very best. The challenge for us is to try to get there more often, lifting our game like we did today.”
A shift in power
The PIF takeover of Newcastle United was completed in 2021 and immediately saw significant investment in the club. Bruno Guimares was one of the first signings and played a significant role in winning this trophy, but he wasn’t the only player from that first transfer window to take part in the final at Wembley. Dan Burn scored a decisive goal, Kieran Trippier played a large role in defense and Joe Willock came off the bench to help close out the match.
It’s a group that shows not only the investment into Newcastle but also the addition of proper targets that would improve the club for the long run while being a good fit under Eddie Howe.
Key additions since 2021 (Values in Euros — the exchange rate is one Euro to $1.09 dollars as of March 16, 2025)
- Bruno Guimaraes, €41.1 million
- Dan Burn, €15 million
- Kieran Trippier, €14 million
- Alexander Isak, €70 million
- Anthony Gordon, €45 million
- Sven Botman, €37 million
- Nick Pope, €11.5 million
- Sandro Tonali, €58.9 million
- Tino Livramento, €37.2 million
- Lewis Hall, €33 million
These additions didn’t come cheap but they have gone a long way to pulling Newcastle back to the European picture and now have them poised for more. Isak scored his 23rd goal in all competitions in the EFL Cup final which was his 100th appearance for the club. Along with adding Guimaraes, Isak joining Newcastle over teams like Arsenal and Manchester United showed that the club meant business in doing this rebuild the right way.
Manchester City already set the blueprint with their takeover by Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, changing the fortunes of the club as we know them, and after already returning to the Champions League, this is the next step to Newcastle moving in that direction.
What’s next?
For Howe, it’s important to balance long-term and short-term goals. Currently, Newcastle are only one point off of Manchester City in fifth place which could see the club secure a Champions League place. Even if not, securing at least a Europa League berth is critical. Not only do the best players in the world want to be playing in Europe but to comply with financial rules, Newcastle need incoming cashflow to buy more players considering the fees that they have already splashed out.
Without European soccer, someone like Isak may need to be sold to balance the books which could set back what this team can accomplish. That leads to one of the long-term goals of locking up the core. Of course, every star isn’t going to be a one-club man but continuity is important. Isak is one of the best strikers in the Premier League, Guimaraes is one of the best midfielders in the league as well and if there’s a way that Newcastle can keep them, they should do all that they can.
Being able to sell the vision that this trophy is just the beginning for this core is important and Howe is already on the road to doing that. Depth was a concern for Newcastle during their last Champions League campaign, but they were now able to win the EFL Cup without Gordon and Hall showing their improvement. Being able to add to that depth will allow Newcastle to make European qualification a regular occurrence and after that, who knows — their next trophy could be a Premier League title which they haven’t won since 1926-27.
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