‘Not far away’ - Alan Shearer tells Newcastle United how they can launch Premier League title charge
Newcastle United finished 22 points behind Premier League winners Liverpool last season.
Alan Shearer believes Newcastle United are “three or four” players away from competing for the Premier League title.
Carabao Cup success in March ended the club’s 70-year wait without domestic silverware but the Public Investment Fund want more. European domination was the long-term goal when PIF stumped up £300million to liberate Newcastle from Mike Ashley in October 2021.
Working within tight PSR constraints, the Magpies have assembled a squad that achieved Champions League for two of the last three seasons. That is despite Eddie Howe being unable to make a significant signing for three transfer windows.
However, the gap between Newcastle and first place was 22 points - highlighting how much work must still be done. The grip of financial restrictions has loosened this summer as fans eagerly await a breakthrough in the transfer market.
Alan Shearer on Newcastle United title hopes
Toon icon Shearer has urged Newcastle to strengthen now given their healthy position as a club. He also claimed the Magpies are not far away from challenging for the title - what would be their first since 1927.
“You have to strengthen when you're at your strongest and Newcastle are in a really strong position by winning a trophy and qualifying for the Champions League,” he told the Daily Mail when asked about the club’s Premier Leagues hopes. “So I guess if they were to get three or maybe four players that can play first team football or challenge to get into first team, then yeah, they can challenge. They're not that far away.”
Alan Shearer reflects on Carabao Cup win
Shearer - who described winning the Carabao Cup as the best day in his footballing life at March’s trophy parade - reflected on Newcastle finally getting over the line. He added: “The longer you've gone without success, the harder it becomes. And it's been really difficult for Newcastle, and I sort of played my part in that by getting to two FA Cup Finals and not winning, and getting to a semifinal and not winning that either.
“And Newcastle last year (2023, getting to the Carabao Cup final, not winning it. It becomes difficult because everyone's talking about how long it is, and then the pressure mounts.
“But now they've been able to do that, I would hope that with the experience they've had of winning it, it's only going to stand them in good stead. So I would hope and I would expect that Newcastle can challenge, whether that's for trophies or whether that's for Champions League football most years now.”
Eddie Howe met Yasir Al-Rumayyan
Howe confirmed he would meet chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan to discuss transfer plans following the final game of the season. He said after the Everton defeat: “As far as I’m aware, we do not have any PSR issues heading into this deadline. Now, I have to put a caveat in there, because I’m not seeing the figures, I’m only relaying what I’m getting told. But I think we are in a lot healthier position and a lot stronger position than we were at this time last year.
“We are looking to reverse what we did last summer. This time, we are in a strong position ourselves where we’ll be looking to make additions to the squad. I will have a discussion with the chairman and representatives from PIF today, and I’m looking forward to that.
“We will be trying to lay some foundations for what lies ahead in the summer. In terms of timings and everything that follows that, I don’t know, but the planning and all the things that go on behind the scenes have been there for a number of weeks now.
“We have been working hard to try to set things up for what we need to do. I think whenever I speak to the chairman, he is very focused on success. He is focused on achieving and winning, and he always leaves me in doubt that that’s what he wants, I’m working towards that.”