Newcastle United transfer news: Bruce set for one-player summer blowout, Ex-Magpie talks up PL return

The Magpies looked like genuine relegation contenders for much of the campaign, so to eventually end up in the relatively dizzy heights of midtable obscurity represents a surprising late twist in their fortunes.

Of course, there are still those who are dissatisfied with how the club reached that position in the table, but manager Steve Bruce has hit back at those critics.

Speaking in the days after the end of the top flight campaign, he said: “There were a lot of questions asked, and rightly so.

“I hope the people who totally wrote us off eat a bit of humble pie, and say ‘well done’. (Let’s) see if they’ve got the courage to do it. It’ll be interesting to see if they have or haven’t.

"We finished 12th and got to 45 points. We’re not going to accept that as an achievement, because I’ve said from day one we’ve got to try to get into the top 10.

“I know there’s a certain negativity on social media towards me driven by certain press people.

“My big thanks to them (the fans) … I’ve had hundreds of letters to offer support. For them, thank you. They make the club the unique club it is.

“Of course, we can take the club forward, but it’s small steps.

“My aim from day one has been to try and keep Newcastle out of the bottom half of the division.”

We’ve gathered the best of today’s Premier League rumours below...