This is the club who are biggest threat to Newcastle United in new elite Premier League order | OneFootball

Sunday the 16th March 2025 was one of the most important dates in living memory for Newcastle United.

A handful of condescending individuals (I’m looking at you Paul Scholes) may have tried to dismiss Newcastle’s triumph, claiming “it’s only the League Cup.”

However, to show that Newcastle United can turn up when it matters most and more importantly win something, is huge. Not only for the fans, but also for the mindset of a club that have been viewed as nearly-men for decades.

As far as the 2024/25 season goes, it will be impossible to top that afternoon at Wembley for every fan who bleeds black and white, but Sunday the 11th May may just be as impactful as far as the immediate future of the club is concerned.

Pundits, media outlets and social media commentators alike all speculated if Newcastle would see the Carabao Cup win as “job done” for the season and the team would understandably stumble towards the finish line in a post-cup celebration stupor.

Instead, Eddie Howe’s men have used that cup success to put together a run that makes them one of the most in-form teams in the Premier League. An away loss to Villa during a busy three game week, then Sunday’s stalemate with Brighton, being the only points dropped since the cup triumph.

What this means is that Newcastle United host fellow Champions League hopefuls (and PSR dodgers…) Chelsea on Sunday with the chance to all but seal a place at Europe’s top table on the line.

In an ideal world where PSR isn’t hanging over clubs like a harbinger of doom, a cup win and a place in any European competition would be viewed as a successful season, and to many it probably still is.

Unfortunately, we live in the real world where a club’s future is dictated by meaningless regulations put in place years ago which are no longer fit for purpose.

Regardless of your stance on Newcastle’s Saudi owners, and the owners of several other high profile clubs in the league, it is ludicrous to suggest that Newcastle could not spend far in excess of their current levels and no longer be sustainable.

Despite this fact, clubs like Newcastle and Aston Villa are being held back under a glass ceiling of commercial revenue, with the only way of raising that ceiling, without leaning on the wealth of a club’s owners, being participation in the Champions League.

So, turning the focus back to the fixture against Chelsea on Sunday, the game has the potential to rival the League Cup final win in its importance for the club’s future. A win against Chelsea on Sunday certainly won’t be remembered in the years to come, but the doors a win would unlock by placing us on the threshold of a second Champions League football campaign in three seasons, certainly will be.

My understanding is that, financially at least, Newcastle United are under absolutely no pressure to sell this summer and are in a strong position to retain all our star players.

However, the reality is that if we were to miss out on Champions League football, the endless speculation we would face this summer about our star men leaving for Champions League football, would be at the very least a disturbance in preparations for the 2025/26 campaign.

Additionally, without the colossal commercial revenues generated by other Champions League hopefuls such as Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur (the latter pair look odds on to go head-to-head secure a place via the Europa League) this financial security would be a very different scenario in 12-18 months’ time.

On the other hand, if Newcastle United can secure a top five finish, we will have the ability to add the necessary quality to the squad and make it one capable of competing on all fronts, with the promise of Champions League football an important carrot.

As strong as our starting 11 is, the NUFC squad is probably weaker than Aston Villa’s current squad, as evidenced by our recent defeat in Birmingham and our inability to rotate the team.

Aston Villa are probably our biggest competition when it comes to establishing a new order in the Premier League’s elite clubs, and as well as they have played at times, they look set to miss out on Champions League football next season. Villa performed above expectations in this season’s revamped Champions League format, but  they found the rigours of competing in Europe’s premier competition detrimental to their league form, until they were able to secure some additional loan players in January.

A Newcastle United in the 2025/26 Champions League will be able to market themselves to existing players and potential recruits as a trophy chasing, perennial Champions League club. Eddie Howe has stated on multiple occasions that the pool of players we can recruit who are capable of improving the squad is a small one. With more clubs than ever being able to offer the prospect of Champions League football to potential recruits, the competition for the kind of players Howe and Newcastle will be trying to recruit will be fiercer than ever. It is because of this competitive market, a top five finish feels essential to position the club to succeed moving forwards.

With a proven elite coach in Eddie Howe and existing superstars like, Bruno, Tonali, Gordon and Isak, an improved 2025/26 Newcastle United squad not only has the ability to advance in the Champions League, it also is a strong contender to be in the mix for the Premier League title come the latter stages of next season.

It is no secret that the ambition of the PIF as Newcastle United owners is to compete for titles. A top five finish in 2024/25 is the springboard for Newcastle United to be able to achieve this. I’m confident that United can effectively achieve this on Sunday against Chelsea and I’m sure that Eddie Howe and his players will be too.

I have been hearing from friends consistently in recent days that they are nervous for Sunday. I’m asking any Newcastle United fans who feel that way to think back to March 16th and Wembley, remember, this is a Newcastle team who have shown they can turn up when it matters.

Let’s all channel the same energy we had that glorious day in North London and help the lads see this through!