Newcastle are in the Champions League for the first time in 20 years next season, and the project is ahead of schedule as not many would have predicted this so early after the takeover.

Now the focus is on continuing to build the squad, adding more talent and depth so that they can compete at the highest level in Europe while still being competitive domestically in the Premier League and the domestic cups. We see it often where a team breaks into European football after a great season but then with the extra game and demands that come with that, they struggle to replicate their success in the league the following season.

For Eddie Howe’s Newcastle team, the job is to keep the pace in the Premier League next season while seeing how far they can take things in the Champions League, and to do that they need depth and the experience of players who have played in the Champions League. This is a big test for Eddie Howe like the one he had when he first joined Newcastle and had such success in his first season. Knowing him he never sits still and is always looking at where he can grow, like he did when he was out of work and focused on where he could get better by watching other coaches at work.

One of those players could be Sandro Tonali, who is close to signing from AC Milan per various reports. Tonali has experience with AC Milan in The Champions League, making it to the semi-finals last year and he is a player that gets a lot of praise for his passing ability and vision, playing as a creative midfielder that sits deep and has been likened to Andrea Pirlo. He is also quite physical which means he could adapt to the Premier League well.

There are other rumours as there always are, one of the big ones been Southampton right-back Tino Livramento, who is a promising young talent, and it’s known that Eddie Howe is also a fan of Ward-Prowse, with that deal being more likely than ever with Southampton’s relegation from the Premier League.

The key is that the team keeps adding players that can add to the success and can grow together with the vibrant young talent to compete in the Premier League and Europe, because that is how they will attract even more homegrown and international players to the club.

By the end of summer we can expect Newcastle to have added a handful of talented players, and you can see from the age of these players who are often in their early twenties that there is a future focus to build a team that can stick around together for a few years.

There is always a period of time needed for new players to settle in so getting this balance right will be key, plus the current squad played so well together last season that it is going to become competitive to get in the team, which is always great for a manager.

Now that things look bright the expectations at the club will continue to grow more and more each season. #mlove