Newcastle United quietly reach Premier League milestone – without 'irreplaceable' player

That milestone is only normally reached in the final weeks of a campaign – if at all.

Eddie Howe’s side were yesterday held to a 1-1 draw at St James’s Park by West Ham United.

The Premier League fixture followed the fourth-placed club’s Carabao Cup success over Southampton four days earlier.

Newcastle fans haven’t had it so good in a long time.

Yet there was palpable frustration and disappointment at the final whistle that Newcastle hadn’t been able to beat David Moyes’ relegation-threatened side after taking a third-minute lead.

In truth, they were nowhere near their best with the ball – and, unusually for them, they conceded a sloppy goal from a set-piece.

Talking about Bruno

Declan Rice bossed the midfield for spells, and Howe admitted that midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, serving the first game of a three-match ban for his tackle on Southampton’s Sam Edozie on Tuesday night, had been “missed”.

Howe do you replace a player who is “irreplaceable”?

“I think we missed Bruno, but we were always going to miss Bruno, because he’s so unique and slightly different,” said United’s head coach.