Antonio Conte believes Newcastle United will be direct competition for Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal in next season's top-four race. Challenging towards the top of the Premier League in the mid 90s and at the start of the millennium, the Magpies have fallen quite some way in recent years and have had two different spells in the Championship.
Having to settle for a place in the bottom half in recent seasons, Newcastle fans are now targeting major success over the coming years following the club's takeover in October that saw Mike Ashley's reign finally come to an end. Splashing the cash in January with Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Bruno Guimaraes and Dan Burn all signing on the dotted line at St James' Park, as well as Matt Targett moving on loan from Aston Villa, Eddie Howe's team have moved away from the relegation zone.
All eyes will be on the club's movement in the summer transfer market, with many expecting a number of big-name additions as Newcastle look to get back to their previous heights. Taking Man City time to contest for major honours after their takeover in 2008, Conte feels that the Toon Army will be in competition with his Spurs side and others in next season's battle for Champions League football.
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"Yeah, for sure. We're talking about a club that now wants to invest. I know very well these people decided to come into football, not only to participate, but because they want to win and to be competitive," he said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday's showdown vs Newcastle when asked if they will be a direct rival in 2022/23.
"For sure they want to put money to bring Newcastle to another level. In England when I speak about a tough league, a league where the difficulty is very high, every team wants to improve the team, not only Newcastle next season.
"There are many teams. Aston Villa wants to improve the team. This league is very difficult and for this reason you have to work very hard to build something important and then go season by season to improve the quality of your squad.
"You have to continue this idea to improve the quality of your squad. This is the only way to be competitive in England. Otherwise important clubs risk to slip in this league and slip in the relegation zone in England. When this happens, it'll be good to fight for this target. It's not easy."
