Newcastle United

Newcastle United are in talks with Burnley over a deal for 22-year-old England goalkeeper James Trafford. (Fabrizio Romano), external

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We asked for your views on John Anderson's top five moments at St James' Park. Suffice to say, some of you didn't agree.

Here are some of your comments:

Tony: He has missed the biggest one. It nearly cost me my soon-to-be-completed marriage. David Kelly's last-minute winner vs Portsmouth. If we had lost, we could go down to the third division; we win, get a result at Leicester the next week, and the rest is history.

Anon: Newcastle 4 - 4 Arsenal has to be on there. Greatest comeback ever with the legend Tiote scoring the equaliser. Can't believe John has missed this off.

Richard: I watched Hatem Ben Arfa run the length of St James' Park and score. He just kept going and going. All around the ground, people were shouting: "Go on! Go on!" Louder and louder as he got nearer the Bolton goal. It built up to a crescendo, and then he scored. It was just a thing of beauty. My favourite moment. I was with my young son, which I think made it more special as we got to share it.

Neil: The Bowyer/Dyer incident should not even make the top 100 St James' Park moments! The 4-4 comeback game against Arsenal should replace it!

Ozzy: John Anderson missed out on Newcastle 4 - 4 Arsenal. We were losing 4-0 after 26 minutes, and it remained like that at half-time. The Toon played brilliantly in the second half and, following Arsenal going down to 10 men, gradually pulled back the deficit with goals. Tiote's long-range, low bullet to equalise with only a couple of minutes to go sent St James' absolutely wild.

Alan: King Kev's debut against QPR and scoring the winning goal! St James' Park rammed full for the first time in years. The whole city was on fire with excitement, and the world's press all over the ground. Kevin Keegan: a legend!

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Newcastle will face Spanish side Espanyol at St James' Park on Friday, 8 August, in their first home friendly before the 2025-26 season.

The match, which kicks off at 19:30 BST, has been added to bolster preparations for a season in which the Magpies will compete in both the Premier League and Champions League.

Head coach Eddie Howe is expected to use the fixture to build fitness and cohesion across the squad before Newcastle begin their league campaign at Aston Villa, followed by a home match against defending champions Liverpool.

Espanyol, who are marking their 125th anniversary, finished 14th in La Liga in 2024-25.

The fixture kicks off a busy weekend for the Tyneside club, with Newcastle's men's and women's teams set to take on Atletico Madrid in the Sela Cup on Saturday, 9 August.

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Tino Livramento has praised Newcastle boss Eddie Howe's influence as he navigates a summer of speculation.

The Magpies full-back is preparing for England Under-21s' Euro 2025 quarter-final with Spain in Slovakia on Saturday.

He has been linked with Manchester City after an impressive season with the Newcastle, including helping them lift the Carabao Cup.

Livramento sidestepped questions about his future at the Young Lions' training base just outside Bratislava but believes Howe's guidance is key.

"The manager, I'm in constant contact with him. He has just said to keep focusing on what you're doing now and you're doing so well," he said.

"So I think having that relationship with someone that is obviously such a big figure in what I've done so far is an amazing thing for me.

"I'm very much focused on what I'm doing here now. I don't know anything about that [City interest]. Being away with the under-21s is my main priority. I like to stay in the moment and just focus on what I can do to help the team now."

Two years ago, Livramento watched his under-21 team-mates win the European Championship while on holiday after missing out because of injury.

The 22-year-old had just recovered from a serious knee injury which kept him sidelined for a year while at Southampton.

Saturday's last-eight meeting with Spain is a rematch of that final - which Lee Carsley's side won 1-0.

He said: "In my career it was definitely the right thing for me not to go.

"Lee spoke to me, which was a big thing. He just said, 'I'd love for you to come away but it's obviously not the right timing with the injury' and everything I had going on in my life at that moment.

"I was just very much behind the idea of supporting the team away from obviously being in Georgia. It was a great group and I loved watching them play.

"I want to be part of the team that wins this trophy and I want to retain it for my nation."

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The Tyne-Wear derby is back – and the North East is already bracing for one of English football's most fiercely contested rivalries.

Following the release of this season's Premier League fixtures, Sunderland will host Newcastle United at the Stadium of Light on 13 December, with the return game taking place at St James' Park on 21 March. These dates are now etched in the minds of supporters across the region.

Few matches stir the emotions quite like the Tyne-Wear derby. For some, it's about pride. For others, it's about history. But for everyone, it's a game that transcends the football pitch.

BBC Radio Newcastle's Newcastle United commentator Matthew Raisbeck said: "When I think of the North East derby, I think of passion, passion that both sets of fans have for their club and how much we get to experience that when the games are being played."

On the other side of the divide, Sunderland's matchday commentator Nick Barnes shared his own take - one that focuses on the emotional toll the derby can take on those involved.

He said: "In one sense, it's a fantastic occasion. In the other sense, it's a real headache, madness in the build-up to the game itself, with all the banter and social media goes bananas. The anxiety, anticipation and the tension and everything that goes with the atmosphere, it is a remarkable occasion."

Listen on BBC Sounds

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Throughout Friday, we have been revealing former Newcastle centre-back John Anderson's top five memorable moments at St James' Park.

In top spot, he puts Newcastle's 6-1 annihilation of Tottenham Hotspur, when the Magpies with 5-1 up after just 21 minutes.

"It's got to be said that Spurs were absolutely abysmal and we punished them every moment," Anderson.

"It was an unbelievable 20 minutes of football. After 20 minutes, you could have got up and left because the game was over - and you were thinking that this could be absolutely anything."

The full list:

1. Newcastle 6-1 Tottenham Hotspur - April 2023

2. Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer's fight - April 2005

3. Newcastle 4-1 Paris St-Germain - October 2023

4. Newcastle 3-2 Barcelona - October 1997

5. Newcastle 5-0 Manchester United - October 1996

Do you agree with Anderson's selection? Put them in order over here

What has he missed out on? Tell us here

And listen to the full discussion on BBC Sounds

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Throughout Friday, we have been revealing who ex-Magpies defender John Anderson sees as the most memorable moments at St James' Park.

Coming in at number three, according to Anderson, is Newcastle United's 4-1 win against Paris St-Germain in the group stages of the Champions League in 2023.

"You look back at the goalscorers and they were not who you'd really expect," Anderson told BBC Radio Newcastle. "Miguel Almiron, Sean Longstaff, Dan Burn and Fabian Schar scored that night and we totally outplayed them.

"We were fearless - we absolutely took them apart, and there wasn't a fault in the performance. And it was so deserved. There was nothing whatsoever lucky about it.

"From start to finish, PSG couldn't live with the tempo and energy we played with. We deservedly won - and won really well."

In second, Anderson puts the infamous fight between Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer during a heavy defeat by Aston Villa in the 2004-05 Premier League season.

"Everybody is watching the game, and then the next minute, the two of them have got each other by the scruff of the neck in the middle of the pitch," said Anderson. "It's not something you'd expect to see, and both see red.

"It's one of those incidents that anybody who was there on the day remembers it so well, because it was so unusual, especially in the modern game.

"I remember leaving the ground; that's all anybody wanted to talk about, not the fact that we were beaten 3-0 by Aston Villa."

What event do you reckon made top spot?

Find out on BBC Sounds - or come back a little later on Friday

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The Professional Footballers' Association has announced its shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, with six standout Premier League performers in the running.

Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Alexis Mac Allister are joined by Newcastle United's Alexander Isak, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes, Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice and Chelsea star Cole Palmer.

Salah continued his remarkable consistency for Liverpool, while Mac Allister impressed in his second season at Anfield.

Isak's clinical finishing helped Newcastle to a strong league campaign, and Fernandes remained a creative force despite United's mixed form.

Rice was pivotal in Arsenal's push in the league and Europe, and Palmer continued to show great form at Stamford Bridge with a series of match-winning displays.

The winner, voted for by fellow professionals, will be announced later this summer.

Image source, Getty Images

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Throughout Friday, we will be revealing the moments former Newcastle defender John Anderson rates as the top five at St James' Park.

In reverse order, he puts the 5-0 demolition of Manchester United during the 1996-97 season in fifth place.

"It was a sensational performance - unbelievable," he told BBC Radio Newcastle. "It was one of those games where everybody you speak to was there. And if everybody you spoke to was there, then it would have been 150,000 of them!

"That's just because everybody remembers it so well.

"It was sweet revenge, I suppose, for what happened the season before."

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A spot higher at number four was Newcastle's 3-2 win against Barcelona in the Champions League during the 1997-98 season, when Faustino Asprilla scored a perfect hat-trick.

It was the first time St James' Park had hosted a Champions League game.

"Asprilla and Keith Gillespie were sensational," Anderson recalled. "Gillespie's performance on the night on the right wing was brilliant. He stuck a couple of crosses in that led to a couple of goals.

"Barcelona were a top side at the time and we went 3-0 up but I was very pleased it didn't go on for another 10 minutes. They hit the crossbar late on as well.

"The atmosphere and the noise that night were sensational. It was uncharted territory for us as and we came up against one of the best in Europe and turned them over. Sensational."

Listen to the full list on BBC Sounds - or come back later to find out what's next on Anderson's list

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Despite progressing through the youth ranks at Chelsea as a right-back, Tino Livramento featured heavily on the left side of defence for Newcastle last season after the long-term injury suffered by Lewis Hall.

He impressed in this role and started there for England's first two group games in this summer's Euro Under-21 Championship under Lee Carsley.

"Lee would say he likes me on the left because I can come inside and use my right foot," Livramento said on the role. "The same goes for the Newcastle manager, but when you're in that position it's all instinct.

"I wouldn't say playing as a left-back is my favourite position, but as long as I'm out there and playing I'm really enjoying my football right now."

In the Three Lions' opener against the Czech Republic, Livramento was awarded player of the match after an impressive performance in which his purposeful run and cross forced the deadlock to be broken with an own goal.

When asked what the 22-year-old's best position is, former Magpies defender John Anderson said: "It's a really tough one. I think he's been exceptional in both.

"Since young Hall got injured and he reverted to left-back for Newcastle, he's been exceptional. I think it's a great option for the manager as well that he can play in both those positions and not look out of place.

"Since going to left-back, he's looked like someone who has played there all his life. He's been brilliant at left-back."

However, when asked if Livramento should return to right-back when Hall returns from injury, Anderson added: "I think so. It's a no-brainer really.

"You've got a young boy in Hall who took a while to settle but since getting in the side has been excellent and has become an England international. They're still young boys and learning the game but hopefully they will be there for years to come."

Listen to the full chat on BBC Sounds

Chelsea are planning to hijack Newcastle's move for Brighton and Brazil forward Joao Pedro, 23. (Sun), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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England goalkeeper Nick Pope, 33, does not want to leave Newcastle despite interest from Leeds, meaning their own attempts to sign Burnley's English stopper James Trafford, 22, could be held up. (TBR Football), external

Liverpool are prepared to smash the British transfer record to sign Newcastle and Sweden striker Alexander Isak, 25, this summer. (GiveMeSport), external

Chelsea have made initial contact with Brighton over Brazil striker Joao Pedro, 23, who is also wanted by Newcastle. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Newcastle want to sign England forward Marcus Rashford on loan but Manchester United would prefer to offload the 27-year-old on a permanent basis. (Sun), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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With the Premier League fixtures out, we asked for your thoughts on the schedule and where you think Newcastle will be after their first 10 matches.

Here are some of your comments:

GC: It's a tough start in those first 10 games plus with the Champions League fixtures added in. I would still expect that Newcastle will be in the top six by the end of those games though. It is just as hard for all teams as well. We need to get a good transfer window done.

Neil: Starting the season with Aston Villa away and Liverpool at home will be tough but I am feeling positive about a top three finish with the right investment.

Dale: I would like 24 points out of the first 10 games and I can't wait for us to put Sunderland in their place in December. It is a tough start so I would take five points from the opening three games in August.

Chris: I can feel a four wins, three draws, three losses coming on.

Richard: After 10 games, Newcastle will be second on 26 behind Liverpool and only dropping points in draws at Villa and Brighton. That means winning home games against Liverpool (it's our turn), Arsenal (we usually step up) and Nottingham Forest. Optimism but not crazy!

Krish: In the European places. It's going to be a fun start and and we may struggle for consistency but I think top seven after 10 games. If we don't strengthen sufficiently, then in the top 10.

Opta has ranked the difficulty of each top-flight team's first five Premier League fixtures of the 2025-26 season.

According to Opta's model, Manchester United have the hardest start, followed by their opening-weekend opponents Arsenal and then Bournemouth.

Aston Villa's first five games have been ranked the easiest, alongside Crystal Palace.

Take a look below to see where your side places...

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Fans have been warned by the Premier League that fixtures could be moved at "relatively short notice" next season because of the number of teams playing in Europe.

A record nine top-flight clubs have qualified for continental competition in the 2025-26 campaign.

The Premier League said there is an "increased likelihood" that games will be re-scheduled if English teams reach the latter stages and it suggested fans take this into consideration when planning their attendance at games.

Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham will be playing in the Champions League next season.

Aston Villa and Crystal Palace have qualified for the Europa League, while Nottingham Forest will be playing in the Conference League.

"While the Premier League celebrates this success, it will come with an impact on the scheduling of league matches," a statement from the Premier League said.

"There is an increased likelihood of Premier League fixtures moving at relatively short notice, after our fixture announcements, should our clubs progress to the knockout rounds of these competitions."

Andrew Bassett
BBC Sport data analyst

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We have seen a lot of traffic to our fixtures pages already today.

So far, Leeds United are the fourth most visited club fixtures page on BBC Sport.

Only Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal are ahead of the Whites.

Newly promoted Sunderland also catch the eye inside the top 10 - and in case you were wondering, they are behind Newcastle United.

Aside from the opening weekend's game at Aston Villa and the final fixture of the season against Fulham, all dates are subject to change as a result of broadcast and other requirements.

See Newcastle's full fixture list here

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With rivals Sunderland having returned to the Premier League, the first Tyne-Wear derby of the 2025-26 season will be at the Stadium of Light on the weekend of 13-14 December.

Eddie Howe's side will then host the Black Cats at the end of March.

In terms of a possible title race, Newcastle's meetings with defending champions Liverpool, who they beat 2-1 to claim the Carabao Cup, are scheduled for the weekend of 23-24 August and the end of January.

The two games against last season's runners-up Arsenal are set for the weekends of 27-28 September and 25-26 April, while matches against Manchester City come in November and February.

And what about the schedule over Christmas and New Year? Well, Newcastle will end the year with a home game against Chelsea and trips to Manchester United and Burnley before travelling to Crystal Palace in their first game of 2026.

Finally, the Magpies close their campaign against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday, 24 May 2026 - when all 10 matches will kick off at 16:00 BST.

Looking at the fixture list, where do you think Howe's side will be after 10 games? Have your say here

Newcastle will travel to Aston Villa for their opening game of the 2025-26 Premier League season.

The match will take place on Saturday, 16 August at 12:30 BST, with the Magpies' first home fixture against Liverpool on the weekend of 23-24 August.

See Newcastle's Premier League fixtures in full here

Where do you think Eddie Howe's side will be after 10 games and what do you make of how the fixtures have fallen? Tell us here

Harry De Cosemo
Sports Journalist

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There are four key positions Newcastle want to improve: right wing, centre-back, striker and goalkeeper. Their top targets are mostly Premier League-based, with Eddie Howe wanting to minimise the acclimatisation period for new signings, but this works against his desire for a quick start to the market.

Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo was earmarked as the main target out wide, but links to Manchester United and Tottenham have forced a rethink; similarly Ipswich striker Liam Delap and Bournemouth centre-back Dean Huijsen, who the club also spoke to, joined Chelsea and Real Madrid.

After a late bid last summer, Newcastle have again enquired about Nottingham Forest's Anthony Elanga, as well as Brighton forward Joao Pedro. West Ham's Mohammed Kudus and Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo are also of interest.

Talks with Burnley over a deal for 22-year-old England goalkeeper James Trafford are restarting after failed bids a year ago, but nothing appears close. Guehi remains high on the list in defence.

Newcastle, who are majority owned by Saudi Arabia's wealthy Public Investment Fund, do not want to be held to ransom over fees, which is causing transfer progress to slow down.

The wage structure in place is strict too, and the club are being careful not to break it for a new recruit, while hoping star striker Alexander Isak signs an improved contract.

There is a sense in the fanbase that Newcastle should look abroad for better value signings, having had previous success with Isak and midfielders Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali.

"We just can't afford to shop domestically all the time," Adam Widdrington, from the Newcastle United fan podcast True Faith, told BBC Sport.

"Even though the market abroad feels a little inflated, generally speaking there is better value overseas when buying players willing to make a move to England. In particular, those players going slightly under the radar but with impressive form over the past couple of seasons."

Read more on Newcastle's transfer window

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As the transfer window is now open again until 1 September, we asked for you to tell us one player you want to bring to Newcastle United and one player you want the club to sell.

Here are some of your comments:

Oliver: I think if we have to sell someone it would be Callum Wilson, not because he's no longer good enough but I think we should move him on while he still has a decent price tag. In terms of buying I think there are multiple options but I think that Anthony Elanga would be a really good signing.

Steve: I think Joe Willock is not up to the standard required at the top so would definitely sell. Marc Guehi is the man I would love to see in a Newcastle shirt.

Peter: Gordon out, Elanga in and put the rest towards Pedro.

Dan: Unfortunately sell Botman - fantastic player when he is fit, but he can't stay fit. There's a lot of value in him still and with an ageing Schar and Burn, selling him pays for his replacement. I would sign Tomori and/or Marc Guehi. Both would give us depth and competition.

Paul: I'd sell Gordon to Liverpool for anything over £80m. We have Barnes and others that can play there. I'd take Joao Pedro but £60m is too much for him.

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Former Magpies defender John Anderson teams up with BBC Radio Newcastle's Simon Pryde to count down their top five moments at St James' Park.

From legendary goals to iconic wins under the lights, it's pure gold. Relive the magic. Feel the roar. This one's for every Toon fan.

Listen now on BBC Sounds here

Newcastle have opened talks with Brighton over the signing of Brazil forward Joao Pedro, 22, and are also interested in Sporting and Ivory Coast centre-back Ousmane Diomande, 21. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Meanwhile, the Magpies have joined Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United in the race for Southampton and England Under-21s winger Tyler Dibling, 19. (CaughtOffside), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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