THIS summer might have turned out to be largely uneventful at Newcastle United, but the relative lack of transfer activity has created a series of issues that will need addressing in the next 12 months.

Remarkably, for a Premier League club, Newcastle have 11 senior players who have entered the final year of their current contract at St James’ Park. As things stand, all of those players will be free to leave as free agents at the start of next summer.

Who are the 11 players? And what might Newcastle decide to do with them over the course of the next year?


MARTIN DUBRAVKA

Most observers expected Dubravka to leave this summer, but despite interest from a number of clubs, most notably Celtic, the Slovakia international remained on Tyneside.

Dubravka was an unused substitute on the opening weekend, and returned to the squad to sit on the bench during Sunday’s win over Tottenham. Given that he turns 36 in January, it is extremely unlikely that Newcastle will offer Dubravka a new deal, however their best chance of securing a fee for his services has almost certainly passed. As things stand, there is a good chance he will leave as a free agent next summer.


JOHN RUDDY

Ruddy joined Newcastle this summer following his release from Birmingham City, signing a one-year deal that means he is contracted until next June.

His involvement on the pitch this season is likely to be limited, although he was an unused substitute in both the draw with Bournemouth and Carabao Cup win over Nottingham Forest, but Eddie Howe values his off-field experience and input on the training ground. As a result, even though he will turn 38 next month, there is a chance Ruddy could be retained on another short-term deal.


MARK GILLESPIE

Having been released as a youngster, Gillespie rejoined Newcastle from Motherwell in the summer of 2020. However, he has only made three senior appearances for the Magpies.

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Nevertheless, Newcastle’s recruitment team opted to trigger a clause in his contract earlier this summer, extending his stay on Tyneside to the end of this season. Will that mark the end of his time with the Magpies? There has to be a good chance, although Newcastle’s failure to sign James Trafford this summer means their long-term goalkeeping situation remains extremely uncertain.


KIERAN TRIPPIER

After turning down interest from Bayern Munich in January, this summer represented Newcastle’s last realistic chance to cash in on Trippier, who is due to reach the end of his contract in June.

However, with Howe insisting he did not want to lose the recently-retired international, Trippier remained on Tyneside despite falling behind Tino Livramento in the pecking order at right-back. Given the ongoing links with Turkish side Eyupspor, there is still a chance Trippier could leave in the next few weeks. If he doesn’t, it is hard to imagine him being offered a new deal given that he will be 34 in a couple of weeks’ time.


DAN BURN

What will Newcastle do with Burn, a key first-team performer, but a player who will be 33 when his contract expires next summer?

On the one hand, Burn is an extremely influential member of the first-team group, and a player whose defensive versatility has made him a key performer during Howe’s tenure. But given the PSR constraints they are working within, can Newcastle really afford to be dishing out contracts to players approaching their mid-30s? The decision over Burn’s future could be a key test of just how much power and influence Howe retains.


FABIAN SCHAR

Schar’s position is very similar to that of Burn given that he is an extremely important first-team player who is now on the wrong side of 30.

Schar is slightly older than Burn – he turns 33 in December – and Newcastle’s desperation to sign Marc Guehi this summer confirmed there is an acceptance that major defensive surgery is needed. Would Schar agree to a short-term deal, potentially for another season? Or will he see this as his last chance to secure a lucrative move overseas?


EMIL KRAFTH

Howe was extolling Krafth’s value in the wake of Sunday’s win over Spurs, but the Swede is effectively a stand-in right-back who is currently being pressed into action as an emergency centre-half.

If all of Newcastle’s defenders were fit, he would be well down the pecking order, so given that he turned 30 earlier this summer, it is hard to envisage him being offered a new deal. The likelier scenario is that he leaves as a free agent in the summer.


JAMAAL LASCELLES

For so long one of Newcastle’s key leadership figures, Lascelles’ influence, both on and off the pitch continues to wane.

The 30-year-old is due to return from an ACL injury later this autumn, but his first-team opportunities are likely to remain limited and a departure next summer seems likely. It will be for nothing, which is another black mark against Newcastle’s transfer dealings given there have been various points in the past where they could have sold Lascelles for a hefty fee.


JAMAL LEWIS

Lewis is on the way out of Newcastle in one of the shock transfers of the summer, with Brazilian side Sao Paulo having agreed a deal to sign him, although it remains unclear whether that will be on a loan or permanent basis.

Either way, the full-back has almost certainly kicked his last ball for the Magpies, with his £15m move from Norwich having proved a major failure.


SEAN LONGSTAFF

If Newcastle were going to make major money for Longstaff – a homegrown player whose sale would be beneficial in terms of the PSR balance sheet – they would almost certainly have had to engineer a deal this summer.

The midfielder’s future felt like it was hanging in the balance at one stage, but he remained on Tyneside and, as a result, his value diminishes with every day that passes. Might that persuade the Magpies to offer the North-Easterner a new deal? Rather than losing him for nothing, it might now make sense to keep him on the books.


CALLUM WILSON

Wilson’s future has been the subject of considerable conjecture for the last couple of seasons, but Howe didn’t want to lose the veteran striker and in the end, the Magpies boss got his way.

The 32-year-old should be back from injury in the next few weeks, but while he will provide valuable cover and competition for Alexander Isak this season, his value will have disappeared entirely by the end of the campaign.

Perhaps Newcastle will make a final attempt to get something for him in January? Either way, an asset that was potentially worth around £30m a couple of years ago is now worth nowhere near that figure.