If Matthias Jaissle needed a reminder of the task he has inherited at Newcastle United this season, he got a rather harsh one inside 45 seconds at St James’ Park on Saturday.
Bayer Leverkusen were the prestigious visitors for the first part of a pre-season double-header a week before the new Premier League season. The sides met in the Champions League in December, drawing 2-2 at the BayArena. But the Magpies are on a very different path now, a fact that was made eminently clear from the moment Ibrahim Maza fired past new signing Lukas Hornicek at the Gallowgate End from distance. Newcastle recovered to level before half-time through Malick Thiaw before substitute Victor Boniface scored the winner.
On Sunday, Will Osula scored in another disappointing draw with French side Strasbourg, ending in defeat on penalties. Both games taught Jaissle more about what he was missing than what he had.
Newcastle United had two friendlies over the weekend – with plenty to learn in each
Maza was the difference on the first afternoon, offering Leverkusen the sort of creativity the Magpies have badly lacked for years. Every time he got the ball, he was in space and faxing goal, seemingly knowing where all of his team-mates were.
Although staff has since changed on almost every level, Newcastle tracked the Algerian as a teenager while he was at Hertha Berlin. Eddie Howe was criticised for a lack of ingenuity in his side, and Jaissle has gone on to lose Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes who could have gone some way to providing it.
The German likes to utilise a no.10 in a 4-2-3-1 system; not only was Maza making Leverkusen tick, he was showing what Newcastle were missing. You sense if they were to try and move for him now, he’d cost three or four times what he would a year ago.
After a harrowing summer of change on Tyneside, there is a need not only for three or four experienced players to strengthen particular positions, but signings that excite and prove to the existing squad and fans, that the Saudi-led project is still alive. Five years on from the takeover, the hard reset has left many contemplating the Public Investment Fund’s appetite for it given the changing political landscape in the Middle East.
Judging on pre-season is always a risk because results, by definition, don’t matter. Stretching the first team squad over two games just before the competitive action starts, though, seems somewhat counterintuitive. With both squads made up by benches full of academy players, it was always hard to read what would happen once substitutions were made.
“We needed to split,” Jaissle said on Saturday.
“First of all, because it doesn’t make sense that the the lads play two games in a row. But the most important thing now in the last friendlies that you see everyone over 90 minutes, and there are different approaches.
“Some of them, they could use one more training day, especially the guys who returned later or came back from an injury. So there are many aspects to consider, and again, it has nothing to do with with a starting XI or not.”
Across both days, Jaissle was forced to face reality in a number of different ways. Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa, the two forwards hastily signed under Howe to replace Alexander Isak in 2025, are not quite clicking together. Wissa is undoubtedly sharper than he ever has been in a black and white shirt, but that bar was painfully follow. Woltemade still looks like a square peg in a round hole, and although there is goodwill and a desire to make their record signing a success, a nagging sense that club and player should part ways is growing.
Then there is Osula: the most unpredictable striker at the club. Every touch of the ball generates anticipation, with any moment possessing the potential to be stunning and magical or a complete let down. In that sense, he is the perfect poster boy for the era to come at St James’ Park.
Excitement at the unknown is to be commended, because the usual response is fear. Based on both of these games, Newcastle are far from ready. They insist more business will follow before the transfer deadline, with Benfica fullback Amar Dedic likely to be confirmed this week, but that alone won’t be enough.
Someone like Maza would flick a switch and instantly reinvigorate everybody, giving Jaissle a stronger chance of making an impact. As of now, though, with Liverpool and the opening day less than a week away, Newcastle are undercooked and playing catch up. Turning things around will only get harder from here.
