Newcastle United’s XI in five years time - according to Football Manager 2023: photo gallery

What could Newcastle United’s starting XI look like in five years time?

By Joe Buck

Published 2nd Jan 2023, 12:00 BST

As the old saying goes, a week is a long time in football. So imagine what can happen in five years.

Cast your minds back five years ago and Newcastle were battling relegation at the bottom of the Premier League under Rafa Benitez following promotion from the Championship the previous season.

Owners, managers and players have changed at St James’s Park since then as Newcastle, with Eddie Howe in charge, unexpectedly challenge at the top end of the Premier League table.

But what could life look like on Tyneside five years from now? To gauge this, we’ve taken to Football Manager 23 to see what they believe is in store for the Magpies at the end of the 2026/27 season.

Here, we take a look at what Newcastle’s team in five years time could look like - according to Football Manager 23.

1. GK: Gregor Kobel

Nick Pope was Newcastle’s No.1 for most of the five seasons but was replaced by the Borussia Dortmund stopper at the beginning of the 2026/27 season. Photo: Martin Rose

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2. RB: Raoul Bellanova

Bellanova joined the Magpies from Cagliari for £20m and became a mainstay in their defence, racking up over 150 appearances for the club. Photo: Marco Luzzani