Newcastle United are the third and final team (first, technically) promoted to the Premier League this season and it is far from their first time in the league. Out of all the promoted teams from the last few seasons, Newcastle United are the one who you’d be safe to assume can stick it out and not be in a relegation scrap but limited transfer activity so far could prove that theory wrong. Newcastle United’s team currently still looks like it’s great for the Championship but not good enough for the Premier League. Currently, there are a few gambles for us Draft Fantasy Football managers who may shine for us.

Goalkeepers

There are some strange goings on with Newcastle and goalkeepers right now. Tim Krul is back from his season long loan with AZ but he’s been left out of Newcastle’s training camp with the message being sent out that Krul is available for transfer. If any other Premier League teams are smart, then Tim Krul would be a great acquisition but for us in draft leagues, it does mean that it’s best to leave Krul alone right now.

Karl Darlow was the number 1 for Newcastle last season and racked up an impressive 13 clean sheets in an increasingly competitive league but all rumours suggest that Newcastle are looking to offload Darlow and have a new number 1 for the Premier League season ahead.

Until a deal happens though, it’s starting to look like it may, in fact, be Rob Elliot who lines up in goal for Newcastle once the season begins.

In all honesty, I couldn’t tell you when to draft any Newcastle keeper. For now, the best advice is to target keepers from other teams who you’re 100% sure will play.

Defenders

There’s a shining light in the Newcastle defence and that’s the club captain, Jamaal Lascelles. Lascelles played all but 3 games in the Championship last season, scored a few goals and generally looked solid at centre back. Jamaal Lascelles was partnered for the majority of last season with Ciaran Clark.

Ciaran Clark’s first season playing outside the Premier League was last season and in that time, he established a solid centre back partnership with Lascelles which could continue on into the new season but it looks to be getting broken up with the signing of Florian Lejeune who established himself in La Liga last season with Eibar.

Paul Dummett looks to be reclaiming his spot as left back for Newcastle but the same can’t be said for DeAndre Yedlin at right back. Javier Manquillo has been brought in on a full transfer, finally ending his 3-season run of being loaned out.

As for when to draft Newcastle United defenders, I wouldn’t really worry about any other than Lascelles (especially with the Kante Rule on) going too early, the rest don’t really offer much in terms of goals or assists unlike other defenders in the league but they will play so they could very well be good later round pickups when you’re looking for reliable players who will start to fill your team.

Midfielders

Rather interestingly, Ayoze Perez is listed as a midfielder in this year’s game. If he manages to hit the heights that have been expected of him ever since he first played in England than this could end up being a shrewd pickup, sadly though, he has run hot and cold for the last couple seasons.

The bigger news is that Jacob Murphy has completed his move from Norwich and looks to be heading straight into the first team at Newcastle. Newcastle will actually be the 8th club that the 22-year-old has played for but expect him to become a mainstay with his boyhood club. Murphy offers us goals and assists and is an exciting talent, the downside is that he’s yet to be tested in the Premier League but if you’re in the later rounds of your draft and looking for some value in the remaining players, then Murphy could be your guy.

Matt Ritchie is another who could rack up the points for you from Newcastle’s midfield. He has looked more at ease in the Championship but he’s now hitting his peak years and could be handy to have in your squad. The same could be said for Jonjo Shelvey. If Shelvey can keep his head down then he can be a match winner but the red mist often descends which makes him a liability which will cost his draft manager vital points.

Christian Atsu enjoyed a good season for Newcastle in the Championship, so much so that they took the option up to make his transfer permanent. I’m not expecting him to start every game but he does offer a threat when on the pitch. Maybe a good player to keep an eye on and pick up at the right time on waivers.

For those of us that are playing with the Kante Rule turned on, Jack Colback could turn out to be an interesting pickup. I read recently that with this rule turned on, N’golo Kante would have earned an extra 109 points last season.

As to when to draft… just like Newcastle’s defenders, there’s not really any reason to worry about missing out on a player. Murphy, Shelvey and Ritchie could be astute pickups but expect them to still be around, come the middle to later rounds. As for the rest, they’ll be there on waivers/free transfers.

Forwards

Well, if the silly season rumours are to be believed, then I may as well just write “watch this space” and be done with it. Daryl Murphy has joined Nottingham Forest, Adam Armstrong has once again gone out on loan, this time to Bolton, Emmanuel Rivière looks to be getting sold as does the unpredictable (to put it nicely) Aleksandar Mitrović. That leaves the Championships joint 2nd top scorer Dwight Gayle.

Dwight Gayle has plenty of Premier League experience but only really seemed to shine when playing against Liverpool. Based off the current squad, Gayle is a sure thing to start the season up front for Newcastle, providing he recovers from an ongoing hamstring injury) but I feel that he’ll be reduced to a second-string role once a bigger signing comes through the doors at St James’ Park.

Dwight Gayle, if he can replicate his Championship form in the Premier League, then he’s a great pick up but there are doubts when it comes to him. I feel that Gayle will still be around near the later rounds but he could be a valuable second striker for your team.

Wildcard

Ayoze Perez, I see him as a forward as he plays as a second striker but in the game, he’s a midfielder and that could make a nice difference. If he finally performs like he’s meant to (Perez is forever linked with big clubs) then he’s a great pickup for your team as he’ll provide goals and plenty of assists

Conclusion

There’s not much to shout about with the Newcastle team at the time of writing. It looks like they’ve still got plenty of business to do in the transfer market which makes figuring out their line up for the season that bit more difficult. I’d say that Lascelles and Murphy are your two best bets for players from this team which the others all potentially interchangeable.