Newcastle United leaked 21-man Champions League squad v Leverkusen - UEFA rules & injury force 19y/o call-up
Newcastle United’s Champions League squad to face Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday night can be revealed.
Newcastle United return to Champions League action at Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday evening.
The Magpies are looking to bounce back from a 2-1 win at Marseille last time out in the competition which saw them drop out of the top eight and to 11th heading into the final three group phase matches.
A top eight finish would guarantee progress to the last-16 of the competition while finishing 9th to 24th secures progress to a seeded knockout round play-off match. Finishing 25th or below results in a team being knocked out of Europe entirely.
Newcastle head into the game with nine points from their opening five games knowing that another win would almost certainly be enough to secure a top 24 finish and progress to the next stage.
But The Magpies also have one eye on a top eight finish and avoiding a further two matches added to their busy fixture schedule.
“Yeah, [finishing top eight] would be the thing that we're looking to do,” Howe admitted. “But yeah, the preference would be to go through without a playoff game. But there's no guarantees, we want to learn the lessons and try and get through.”
Nine Newcastle United players ruled out v Bayer Leverkusen
Newcastle will be without the injured Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, Emil Krafth, Sven Botman and William Osula for the Bayer Leverkusen match.
Newcastle also have four senior players ineligible to feature as they were not named in the Champions League squad list. UEFA rules dictate a club must name 25 players born on or before January 1, 2004 in their ‘List A’ squad, which includes four club-trained players.
As Newcastle do not have any club-trained players above the age of 21, their squad size was reduced by four, limiting Eddie Howe to naming 21 senior players. That saw Jamaal Lascelles, John Ruddy, Mark Gillespie and Harrison Ashby omitted from the Champions League squad despite being named in the Premier League squad.
Newcastle can add players born on or after January 1, 2004 in their ‘List B’ squad which allows young players registered to the club for at least two years to be eligible to feature in the Champions League.
Lewis Hall and Lewis Miley are named in the ‘List B’ squad due to their age so don’t take up a squad place despite already being established first-team players.
But in the absence of Pope, Ruddy and Gillespie, Newcastle are short of senior goalkeeping options for the Champions League match.
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Newcastle United draft teenager into Champions League squad
Under-21s goalkeeper Max Thompson has been named on the bench in each of Newcastle’s opening five Champions League matches.
UEFA rules state club’s must name three goalkeepers in their Champions League squad but only two have to be named in the ‘List A’ squad. Newcastle only named Aaron Ramsdale and Pope as their ‘List A’ goalkeepers with Thompson drafted in as a ‘List B’ goalkeeper.
But in Pope’s absence due to injury, Howe has called upon 19-year-old goalkeeper Adam Harrison to be named on the bench against Leverkusen on Wednesday night.
It won’t be Harrison’s first taste of being in a Champions League matchday squad as he was named on the bench for the 2-1 defeat at home to AC Milan in the competition two years ago.
In addition to Ramsdale, Thompson and Harrison, Gillespie has also travelled to support the squad but won’t be eligible to feature in the match or be named on the bench.
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Newcastle United leaked Champions League squad v Bayer Leverkusen
Goalkeepers
Aaron Ramsdale
Max Thompson (List B)
Adam Harrison (List B)
Defenders
Lewis Hall (List B)
Tino Livramento
Alex Murphy (List B)
Midfielders
Bruno Guimaraes
Anthony Elanga
Sandro Tonali
Harvey Barnes
Joe Willock
Jacob Ramsey
Jacob Murphy
Lewis Miley (List B)
Anthony Gordon
Forwards
Yoane Wissa