The big Newcastle United secret as Eddie Howe assesses his squad

Newcastle United wrapped up their “mini” pre-season campaign without 16 first-team players yesterday.

Howe’s team beat Real Vallecano 2-1 at St James’s Park in front of a crowd of 34,596 thanks to an early goal from Sean Longstaff and a second-half penalty from Chris Wood.

Newcastle had some good spells, in particular before the break, in what was a competitive game. Allan Saint-Maximin, especially, was a threat in the first half.

“They play, in essence, like a Premier League team, a very aggressive, front-foot team,” said Howe. “I thought there was some really good stuff from us, especially in the first half.”

However, the team Howe picks for Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup side could be very different.

United’s head coach, surprisingly, only named one senior player – fourth-choice goalkeeper Mark Gillespie – on his bench, which was filled with young players, including Dylan Stephenson, Jay Turner-Cooke and Lewis Miley.

And Howe was coy in his post-match press conference when he was asked about the absentees, among them Callum Wilson, Bruno Guimaraes and Miguel Almiron.

On Wilson’s non-involvement, Howe said: “We've only seen Callum briefly (since the World Cup), but I don't want to give too much away, to be honest.”

Howe didn’t give too much away. The 44-year-old was asked if any of those players who had missed the game would be available for the sold-out fourth-round tie against his former club.

“I’ll have to wait and see, assess the squad, and then try and pick a team that will be competitive against Bournemouth,” said Howe.

Pity Gary O’Neil, Bournemouth’s manager. O’Neil won’t know which Newcastle side will turn up, though it seems certain that Wood will start up front with Wilson having only just returned from the World Cup – and Alexander Isak still sidelined with an injury.

Asked about Wood’s importance to his team, Howe said: “Hugely important.

"I think you saw in the Chelsea game. He came in, and he was excellent that day. His tactical understanding was of the highest level.

"I thought his performance (against Vallecano), especially in the first half, was very, very good. He took his penalty well. I think Chris is probably playing with a lot of confidence at the moment.”

Isak’s ongoing absence is a concern, though Howe has stressed that he hasn’t suffered another setback.

What was pleasing, again, was the attitude and commitment of Howe’s players, who beat Al Hilal 5-0 during a winter training camp in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last week.

The team will need to carry that into the Bournemouth game.

"It’s an important game,” said Howe. “We’re under no illusions. We’ve prepared now for three weeks for this game. Leicester (on Boxing Day) is not in our thoughts.

"We’ll try and progress in a cup competition that we said right at the start of the season we wanted to do really well in.

"The players feel that – we all feel that internally – and we want to perform really well.”