Newcastle announce Champions League squad ahead of their return to Europe’s top competition – including forgotten club stalwart
- Newcastle have revealed their 23-man squad for the Champions League group
- The Saudi Arabian-backed side are returning to Europe’s premier competition
- An obscure club stalwart made it in – but a fiery winger was left out of the group
Newcastle United have revealed their squad for the Champions League group stage.
The Magpies are returning to Europe’s top competition after pipping Liverpool to finish fourth in the Premier League last year.
Eddie Howe’s men will face AC Milan at the San Siro on Tuesday 19 September, with French giants Paris Saint-Germain and German side Borussia Dortmund also in a tough-looking ‘Group of Death’.
And ahead of the Milan clash, Newcastle have announced a 23-man ‘List A’ group of players – with a surprise or two.
Howe has included a forgotten club stalwart who has been on the books at St James’ Park for 23 years – and left out a fiery winger who will be disappointed not to make the squad.
Newcastle United have revealed their squad for the early Champions League group stages
The Magpies are returning to the top competition in Europe this season after finishing fourth
The long-serving club man is local boy Paul Dummett.
Versatile 31-year-old defender Dummett has played 205 times for Newcastle in all competitions, scoring four times, but has only made four appearances in the two seasons before the current campaign.
Newcastle’s Champions League squad of 23
Miguel Almiron, Harvey Barnes, Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Martin Dubravka (GK), Paul Dummett, Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes, Lewis Hall, Alexander Isak, Joelinton, Loris Karius (GK), Jamaal Lascelles, Tino Livramento, Sean Longstaff, Jacob Murphy, Nick Pope (GK), Fabian Schar, Matt Targett, Sandro Tonali, Kieran Trippier, Joe Willock, Callum Wilson.
Champions League rules say clubs must include eight locally trained players in their final 25-man List A squad.
Only Dummett – a key reason why he was included, given his chances of actually playing are extremely slim – youngster Elliot Anderson and midfielder Sean Longstaff fulfil the ‘club-trained’ quota, meaning Newcastle’s squad size has been reduced.
The headline name missing out is argumentative wideman Matt Ritchie.
Ritchie, 33, who worked with Howe at Bournemouth, played seven Premier League games last season and 10 in all competitions but was obviously considered expendable.
Also missing out are backup goalkeeper Mark Gillespie, full-back Javier Manquillo and right-back Emil Krafth, who is recovering from a nasty ACL knee injury picked up last campaign.
The List A squad is named for the opening stages of the Champions League group, with some others becoming eligible as part of the List B squad in January.
Those include the likes of Anderson and 17-year-old academy product Lewis Miley.
Anderson and Miley are named on the second list because they were born on or after 1 January 2002 and have been eligible to represent Newcastle for two years since their 15 birthdays.
Forgotten club stalwart Paul Dummett, who has been on the books 23 years, has been included
But fiery winger Matt Ritchie (left), 33, has been left out of the 23-man ‘List A’ group selected
Emil Krafth (second right) and Javier Manquillo (right) were also overlooked by Eddie Howe
Newcastle have won one and lost three of their four league games so far in 2023-24, leaving them 14th, two points clear of the relegation zone.
The club have gone from relegation contenders to a Champions League club in a little under two years thanks to the near-limitless funds of PIF, the sovereign wealth fund of the Saudi Arabian regime.
Saudi Arabia has been widely criticised for its human rights abuses, persecution of gay people, minorities, and women, mass executions, lack of press freedom, and censorship.
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