Newcastle United have a great core of players currently in their squad amid their battle against the Premier League drop.
This has been claimed by the correspondent for the Magpies, George Caulkin, who was speaking on The Athletic’s Football Podcast.
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Survival
Top half
Europe
Premier League survival appears to be all but confirmed for the Tyneside club, who now have a 12-point gap to 18th-placed Burnley ahead of the Toon’s clash with Crystal Palace.
Despite being the biggest spenders across Europe in the January transfer window, Caulkin has hailed the players for the character shown in recent months.
And the journalist believes a lot of the fight within the current crop of players is coming from those who have previously been relegated to the Championship with the Toon and perhaps do not currently start.
He said: “I mean, I think one of the very nice things about what they did in January was that. although it was a failing team at that point, a failing club, there’s been this very good, nice spirit amongst the squad since they came up from promotion.
“That’s been the thing that’s kind of kept them up, I would argue, a sort of a good bunch. I know that’s a cliche, but it’s something that’s repeated time and time again from people inside the dressing room, that they’re not bad people, that they want to do well.
“There is this theory that what Howe wants and what the ownership wants is for this team to grow, so they want people to get better within the current squad, and to grow with the people that they bring in.”
TIF Thoughts on Caulkin’s comments…
There is certainly evidence for Caulkin’s claim being true in the club’s results over recent months, with a number of players speaking of their love for the club.
And the improvements to players such as Joelinton are clear to see, with the Brazilian previously looking like a £40m flop under the previous manager.
However, Eddie Howe and his staff have shown their desire to improve the players they inherited and make them into success stories on Tyneside which the fans adore.
In other news: George Caulkin reveals £9m-rated ace is ‘very popular’ in Newcastle dressing room