Our Fantasy Premier League (FPL) 2026/27 team previews continue with a Newcastle United side very much in transition after the exit of their manager and several key players.
Here, we discuss their best FPL picks for the upcoming campaign. We’ll also attempt to predict the line-up for Gameweek 1, review pre-season, look at their set-piece takers and more.
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
A FIT WISSA
Clutching at straws much?
Given the pervading negativity clouding Tyneside, it’s hard to find much at all to be positive about.
Could a fitter Yoane Wissa (£6.0m) be one? A protracted transfer saga last summer cost him a proper pre-season, and he arrived at Newcastle injured. We didn’t see him kick a ball until December. For the rest of the campaign, it was obvious that Eddie Howe didn’t think he was fit enough, and he only made four starts.
“I still think there’s loads more to come. I feel a pre-season would definitely help him. You’ll see a totally different player with a really sustained period where he’s able to do what he needs to do.
“No injury, just time on the pitch, he needs training to get his body up to full speed.
“We haven’t been able to train him how we would normally train him. It’s very small groups, game every two or three days, stop-start for him, he was never able to get a rhythm.” – Eddie Howe on Yoane Wissa, speaking in April
This summer has been more like it. A three-goal run at the World Cup, followed by the best part of a month in pre-season training, three friendly appearances, and a brace.
He’s still not half the player his predecessor, Alexander Isak (£9.5m), was, but perhaps he can get back somewhere closer to the 18-goal Wissa we saw at Brentford.
CONCENTRATING ON THE LEAGUE!
Newcastle have struggled badly when competing in Europe.
They finished 4th and 5th in 2022/23 and 2024/25, when concentrating solely on domestic football.
In their two campaigns in Europe, the Premier League finishes were 7th and 12th.
Eddie Howe worked wonders with this Newcastle side but he could never get to grips with midweek competition, and it showed in injuries, fatigue and form dips whenever the Magpies were on the continent.
It’s unlikely the Geordies will be troubling the top five in 2026/27, but easing the workload ought to help the top-half tilt.
REASONS TO BE FEARFUL
THE DISMANTLING OF A ONCE-GREAT SIDE
Newcastle could boast the above front six (picture from BBC Sport) in the 2024/25 season. Four of them have left for around £350m, three exiting this summer, while Joelinton (£5.5m) is injured.
The departure of Bruno Guimaraes (£7.0m) is a particular hammer blow. The heartbeat of this Newcastle side, both in terms of his midfield presence and his emotional connection with the terraces, his loss may be felt the keenest.
They’ve statistically struggled without him in the last four years.
TRANSFERS FOR THE FUTURE, NOT THE NOW
And in the places of the EFL Cup-winning contingent, Newcastle have gone young. Very young. Four of their transfers were spent on players aged 20 or under. The other two are 24.
Seemingly changing tack and adopting the ‘Brighton’ approach (scouting raw, lower-priced gems, selling them for inflated fees), they’ve invested in some promising talent. Bazoumana Traore (£6.0m) and Sean Steur (£5.0m) have caught the eye in pre-season. But as prodigious as they may turn out to be, you could see how green they are in recent friendlies.
It’s in the engine room where the trade-offs are most stark. The snarling, combative midfield trio of Bruno-Tonali-Joelinton, such a weapon in big games especially, now looks lightweight.
VERY LITTLE TIME FOR JAISSLE TO IMPART HIS VIEWS
The jury is still out on new boss Matthias Jaissle.
He’s barely a fortnight in the job, so his new charges have had limited time on the pitch with him.
It’s asking a huge amount of him to impart his views on a brand new squad, without the benefit of a full pre-season.
NEWCASTLE: SUMMER TRANSFER ACTIVITY
Key Transfers In:
| GK | Ewen Jaouen | Reims (£18.5m) |
| MID | Bazoumana Toure | Hoffenheim (£43m) |
| MID | Sean Steur | Ajax (£23m) |
| MID | Aladji Bamba | Monaco (£30m) |
| GK | Lukas Hornicek | Braga (£25.7m) |
| GK | Amar Dedic | Benfica (£30m) |
Key Transfers Out:
| MID | Anthony Gordon | Barcelona (£69m) |
| DEF | Kieran Trippier | Wolverhampton Wanderers (free) |
| DEF | Matt Targett | Hull City (free) |
| DEF | Emil Krafth | Released |
| GK | John Ruddy | Released |
| GK | Odysseas Vlachodimos | Sevilla (loan) |
| MID | Sandro Tonali | Tottenham Hotspur (£100m) |
| MID | Bruno Guimaraes | Arsenal (£75m) |
- READ MORE: Newcastle sign Gordon replacement Toure for £43m
- READ MORE: Who is Newcastle’s new £23m teenage midfielder Steur?
- READ MORE: How Newcastle will use £6.0m FPL midfielder Toure?
- READ MORE: Hornicek, Jaouen or Pope: Who will be Newcastle’s number 1?
NEWCASTLE: PRE-SEASON FPL REPORTS
| Jul 18 | Newcastle United 3-0 Darlington (h) | Willock (J Murphy assist), Osula pen (Willock assist), Neave |
| Jul 25 | Gateshead 1-1 Newcastle United (a) | own-goal (Hall assist) |
| Jul 29 | Bristol City 4-1 Newcastle United (a) | Barnes (Ramsey assist) |
| Aug 8 | Valencia 1-2 Newcastle United (a) | Wissa, Wissa (Toure assist) |
| Aug 12 | Newcastle United 1-3 Everton (n) | Barnes (J Murphy assist) |
| Aug 15 | Newcastle United 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen (h) | Thiaw (Elanga assist) |
| Aug 16 | Newcastle United 1-1 Strasbourg (h) | Osula (J Murphy assist) |
Form Players: J Murphy (3 assists), Wissa (2 goals), Osula (2 goals), Barnes (2 goals), Willock (1 goal, 1 assist)
OPENING FIXTURES
Newcastle’s run of matches from Gameweeks 1-10 is a ticker-topping one. In fact, their toughest test in this entire three-month run is probably this Sunday.
Looking at last season’s results, the Magpies generally did well against the lower-to-mid-table clubs.
In their 16 fixtures against sides sitting 13th or below, they lost just three.
PENALTY + SET-PIECE TAKERS
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