Steve Bruce allowed the likes of Andy Carroll, Florian Lejeune, Christian Atsu, Yoshinori Muto, Henri Saivet and Matty Longstaff to leave this summer but could only replace those with one summer signing.
Only Joe Willock arrived through the doors at St James’s Park, forcing the club to defend its lack of transfer activity via a shock statement last week after fan backlash.
Willock, unlike last term during his loan period, must be named in the 25-man squad after reaching the age of 22. Indeed, this does not apply to under-21s players.
Bruce spoke previously of the “unprecedented” decision to register four goalkeepers, which is now a certainty after a late loan move for Leicester City’s Hamza Choudhury fell through.
But who is set to join them? Here, we take you through Newcastle’s likely Premier League 25-man squad:
1. Martin Dubravka
The Slovakian won’t return until early October at the earliest after suffering a setback in his recovery from foot surgery. Photo: Stu Forster
2. Karl Darlow
Darlow was struck down badly with Covid-19 in pre-season and hasn’t appeared since. He is, however, nearing a comeback with Manchester United next up. Photo: Pool
3. Freddie Woodman
Woodman had agreed to join Bournemouth on loan but instead has started every one of Newcastle’s games this campaign in Dubravka and Darlow’s absence. Photo: George Wood
4. Mark Gillespie
Should Woodman become unavailable, Gillespie is the next man in line. He featured in Carabao Cup games last season, but a first Premier League outing evaded him. Photo: Pool