Newcastle United fans would have had their eyes on England’s first game under Lee Carsley on Saturday.
Gareth Southgate left his England post after their Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain, with a new dawn beginning in Dublin.
England beat the Republic of Ireland in their UEFA Nations League opener, with Declan Rice and Jack Grealish scoring against a nation they once repped.
A lot of plaudits went their way, including towards Newcastle‘s Anthony Gordon, but Gary Lineker had another player on his mind.
It has been well-documented that Newcastle had a summer transfer window to forget, with Eddie Howe not getting who he wanted.
The man Newcastle wanted to sign was Marc Guehi, but despite record bids for the centre-back, he stayed put at Crystal Palace.
Guehi started for England against Ireland, with Lineker stating that he was ‘very impressive’, before teasing Alan Shearer about Newcastle missing out on his signature.
Through gritted teeth and seeing the funny side, Shearer admitted that the Newcastle target looked pretty good, especially on the ball, as he told The Rest is Football.
Marc Guehi impresses for England
“I think Marc Guehi, again, looked very impressive,” said Lineker. “I just wonder Alan why Newcastle didn’t go for him in the summer.”
Shearer laughed and added: “He looked good, didn’t he?! I thought his passing was really good as well. You know when you are fizzing it into the midfield when you have to get through to break the lines. I thought some of his passing was superb.
“He didn’t have to defend that much. I thought, when you are on the ball and you have possession, then you need someone (to break the lines) and I thought he was really good at that.”
Newcastle’s strong start
On paper, Newcastle have made a strong start and they are unbeaten after three Premier League games.
But the performances haven’t been up to scratch. As of this moment, you would accept that, but they have to pick up after the international break.
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If that happens, then those dark clouds over St James’ Park will be blown away, but you just know that if they suffer a few defeats, then the negative noises will start to filter in.
Either way, the Magpies are without Europe and, at a minimum, they have to get back into playing midweek games, or else, fans will start to express their anger.
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