Dean Saunders thinks a Champions League finish is inevitable for Newcastle United in the coming years. The Welshman - who had a brief stint as first-team coach at St James’ Park under Graeme Souness - has hailed the turnaround on Tyneside since the Saudi-backed takeover.
Over £200million has been spent on new arrivals in 2022 - a far cry from what was expected during the Mike Ashley era. Eddie Howe has also managed to revitalise several players whose days in the North East looked numbered.
Now, former coach Saunders has tipped his old club to become a European mainstay in the not-so-distant future. Newcastle has already shown they can hold their own against heavyweights Manchester City and Liverpool in recent weeks.
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Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: “I think Newcastle are going places. It's a matter of time before they get into the top four, the way they're heading.
“They’ve got a bottomless pit of money. If they have an injury crisis in the next few years, they can always throw some money at it. The manager is good and he’s trying to do it gradually. They've got some really good players.
“Dan Burn looks better than anything England have. I think he's really made such a difference to Newcastle's defence. Saint-Maximin looks like a player you wouldn’t want to play against, he’s added a bit of end product to his game.”
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