After the turmoil on and off the pitch at Newcastle United over the summer window, the fanbase will no doubt be thrilled with the display produced by the team against Liverpool on Sunday.
Matthias Jaissle’s men looked as though they would secure all three points at St James’ Park, but despite not claiming all three points, the new boss will be impressed with his players’ performances.
However, the German is still keen to add to his senior ranks before the September 1st deadline, which could see big funds being spent to further bolster the senior ranks.
Nico Gonzalez looks to be edging closer to a move to Tyneside, but the club are still on the hunt to replace one of the big-money departures from this summer.
Why Newcastle still need to replace Gordon this summer
As part of the fire sale of key senior squad members, Anthony Gordon departed Newcastle to join Spanish giants for a reported £69m including add-ons.
Such a sale was a bitter blow for the Magpies, as the Englishman ended last season as their top goalscorer after finding the net 17 times across all competitions.
Harvey Barnes, the club’s second-choice winger from last season, started the opening day draw with Liverpool, but ultimately struggled to produce the goods at St James’.
The 28-year-old failed to complete any of his two dribble attempts against Andoni Iraola’s men, whilst being unable to find a teammate with any of his cross attempts.
|
Harvey Barnes – stats against Liverpool |
|
|---|---|
|
Statistics |
Tally |
|
Minutes played |
90 |
|
Touches |
33 |
|
Pass accuracy |
76% |
|
Possession lost |
12x |
|
Chances created |
0 |
|
Dribbles completed |
0 |
|
Crosses completed |
0 |
|
Duels won |
40% |
Barnes also only managed to win 40% of his ground duels, subsequently being dominated by the opposition and undoubtedly being the weak point within Jaissle’s side.
Summer addition Bazoumana Toure was also included in the matchday squad, but was an unused substitute – with the manager deciding to bring on the likes of Jacob Ramsey and Jacob Murphy ahead of him.
Such a decision highlights the manager’s lack of faith in the Ivorian international at present, with time and patience needed to get the best out of the £43m attacker.
How Newcastle can land Jaissle his own version of Gordon
With just a week remaining in the transfer window, the Newcastle hierarchy will have to work quickly if they are to land any more attackers to bolster Jaissle’s squad.
Countless options have appeared on their shortlist during the ongoing window, but Toure remains as the only forward option to arrive on Tyneside to date.
However, that could be about to change before September 1st, as the Magpies have been strongly linked with a move to sign Lille attacker Matias Fernandez-Pardo.
It’s been reported by French outlet L’Equipe that Newcastle have already made a €40m (£35m) offer to sign the Belgian international this summer.
The report states that the Ligue 1 outfit are currently demanding a higher fee to sanction a sale for the 21-year-old attacker, who has spent the last two years at Lille.
However, despite the initial offer being rejected, the Magpies appear confident in their pursuit, as the player himself has already handed in a transfer request this summer.
The Belgian may be an unknown quantity to many Newcastle supporters, but he’s a player who has caught the eye with his performances and stats in recent times.
Fernandez-Pardo registered 13 combined goals and assists in France’s top-flight last campaign, with such a figure the ninth highest of any attacker within the division.
His underlying stats also make for his excellent reading, subsequently highlighting why he has all the tools to replace Gordon at Tyneside in the years ahead.
The 21-year-old managed to create an impressive average of 1.4 chances per 90 last term – a tally which placed him above 87% of other wingers across Europe’s top-five leagues.
Such numbers highlight the threat he poses to the opposition within forward areas, which could also see other players at St James’ Park increase their own goalscoring tallies.
The Belgian has gained a reputation for being an extremely direct wide option, as reflected by his tally of 1.4 successful dribbles completed per 90 in Ligue 1.
Like his chance creation, Fernandez-Pardo ranked highly compared to others in his position, as he managed to register more dribbles than 86% of players in his position.
Alongside his creativity, the youngster has managed to star in front of goal, as he netted eight league goals in 2025/26 – whilst also achieving a 44% shot-on-target accuracy rate.
Should he replicate such numbers at Newcastle, it’s safe to say Jaissle would have a top-level talent and one who can nail down the left-wing position for many years to come.
Whilst he may be seen as an expensive addition, he has all the tools needed to emulate the success of Gordon on Tyneside and allow the supporters to look forward rather than reminisce about the past.
