Intriguing £58m Newcastle United fitness concerns amid transfer talk as new player spotted - five things

Newcastle United's hopes of ending a near 70-year domestic trophy drought and, in many ways, the club's 2023-24 season were kept alive with a 2-0 FA Cup win at Fulham on Saturday.

Geordies Sean Longstaff and Dan Burn scored in either half to see The Magpies progress to the last-16 of the FA Cup for only the second time since 2006.

Here are five talking points from the match...

Injury return and an intriguing double fitness blow for Newcastle United amid transfer speculation

After a fortnight of no football but plenty of transfer speculation, Newcastle returned to action without two more first-team players. Miguel Almiron, who has been heavily linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League this transfer window, didn't travel to Craven Cottage due to illness.

Club captain Jamaal Lascelles has been linked with a move to Besiktas but missed the game due to a calf injury. While the duo's absences will certainly raise eyebrows amid the transfer speculation, head coach Eddie Howe insisted it was a mere coincidence.

"Miggy is genuinely ill," Howe said afterwards before playing down any transfer interest in Lascelles. "There’s no interest, no. He’s just got a slight tight calf, we don’t think it’s anything serious.”

Callum Wilson also missed the game due to injury but has been subject to transfer interest recently. In Almiron's absence, head coach Eddie Howe was forced to make one change to the side that lost 3-2 to Manchester City a fortnight prior with Jacob Murphy coming back into the starting line-up after two months out with a dislocated shoulder.

A new player named on the bench

In the absence of several first-team players, Howe once again handed a call-up to another Under-21s player to his matchday squad. This time it was the turn of 18-year-old Travis Hernes, who joined the club from Shrewsbury Town at the end of the summer transfer window.

Hernes was an unused substitute in the match but had recently been seen training with the first-team at Darsley Park. The midfielder has featured for both Newcastle's under-18s and under-21s sides this season as well as the under-19s in the UEFA Youth League - registering an assist in the 2-1 win against Paris Saint-Germain's youth side in November.

Youngsters Ben Parkinson and Alex Murphy were also named on the bench while 17-year-old Lewis Miley kept his place in the starting line-up.

Bruno Guimaraes 'controversy' frustrates Marco Silva

Newcastle were second best for the majority of the first half against a Fulham side who had made seven changes following their Carabao Cup exit to Liverpool during the week.

Martin Dubravka was forced into an excellent save early on to deny Rodrigo Muniz while Jacob Murphy squandered a great chance at the other end by shooting straight at Fulham goalkeeper Marek Rodak.

Other than that it was a first half low on quality which saw Fulham put Newcastle under some pressure without doing much with the ball. Newcastle's only openings came about as a result of errors in possession from the home side.

But as the opening 45 minutes drew to a close, a set-piece situation led to The Magpies taking the lead against the run of play. Kieran Trippier's cross into the box was kept alive by Dan Burn, whose header led to a scrappy passage of play which saw the ball bounce up off Bruno Guimaraes' arm before being diverted into the path of Longstaff to drill into the bottom right corner.

The goal was subject to a VAR check which did not overturn the decision to award the goal with Guimaraes' arm deemed to be in a natural position. The fact the Brazilian merely assisted the goal rather than scored himself also worked in Newcastle's favour.

Though Fulham boss Marco Silva couldn't hide his frustrations after the match.

"It's handball," he said. "It's a decision from the referee. For me it's handball but the decision from the referee was not in that direction and VAR decided not to overturn the decision, but I can't tell anymore."

When told that the referee was correct to allow the goal according to the letter of the law regarding accidental handball situations, Silva questioned: "It's accidental handball? I'm not going to say anything more. If the rules say it's okay, that's your opinion. I've already said my opinion."

The Fulham boss was also left aggrieved as a Newcastle corner in the second half led to the visitors doubling their lead as Burn poked the ball in after Sven Botman's header was parried by the goalkeeper. But Silva felt it shouldn't have been a corner in the first place.

A late injury concern for Newcastle United

Newcastle were able to see the game out comfortably in the end though were dealt a late blow with Trippier forced off in the closing stages. The 33-year-old has been nursing a groin issue that initially flared up in the 3-1 defeat against Nottingham Forest last month.

The issue is not thought to be serious with Trippier himself insisting his substitution was a precaution and that he would be 'fine' to be involved against Aston Villa on Tuesday night.

"I'm fine, I've been managing a groin problem but it's nothing serious, nothing at all," he said. "Just precaution really but I'm feeling fine, feeling all right and I'll be fine for the next game."

Trippier, like the unavailable Almiron, Lascelles and Wilson, has also been linked with a move away from Newcastle this month but was quick to quash the speculation at reaffirm his commitment to the club after the win.

Newcastle United into the hat for the fifth round

The Magpies bucked a couple of unwanted trends by beating Fulham on Saturday. While the performance was far from the best by Howe's side, it was only the second time Newcastle had progressed through to the last 16 of the FA Cup since 2006.

It was also the second time United had beaten a fellow Premier League side in the competition since 2005. The performance may not have been pretty but the hope of getting a rollercoaster season back on track remains alive and kicking.