Newcastle United

Newcastle United

Premier League • England

Paul Robinson claims Newcastle trio are finished after being demoted to Under-23s squad

Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson believes that it’s ‘only a matter of time’ before Newcastle trio Dwight Gayle, Jeff Hendrick and Ciaran Clark exit the club after their demotion to the Under-23’s.

The Daily Mail reported earlier in the week that the three players are all training with the Under-23s and will not take part in the club’s pre-season program.

The report adds that the St James’ Park outfit are talking to a ‘host of Championship clubs’ about moves for the experienced Premier League stars.

The Magpies have already been active in the summer window, having also had a busy summer.

Matt Targett, Sven Botman, and Nick Pope have already signed, with more expected to follow. However, Newcastle have to try and trim their squad by offloading fringe players

And Robinson suggested freezing out stars like Gayle and Hendrick may become a regular occurrence.

“It doesn’t take a genius to work out that it’s only a matter of time before they are all out the door,” he told Football Insider.

“You’re not going to be a part of that first-team squad if you’re training with the Under-23s.

“Newcastle’s squad is big. They tried to trim it in January when they brought new players in, and this sort of thing will become a regular occurrence at Newcastle now.

“They are going to rejuvenate and refresh that squad at every opportunity they get. It’s just a part of the process.

“The manager cannot physically find room for that many players in the squad.

“Players will miss out, and Eddie Howe is in place to make those tough decisions.

“The writing is on the wall for those three if they’re missing out on pre-season and playing with the kids.”

Botman tipped to shine at Newcastle

Meanwhile, Danny Murphy has praised Newcastle for signing Sven Botman from Lille and revealed the attributes which will help him to succeed in the Premier League.

Newcastle pursued the centre-back in January but had no luck. Lille did not want to sell while he was playing an integral part of their campaign.

Lille’s stance softened at the end of the season though and AC Milan soon took pole position for Botman.

But Newcastle managed to fight off the reigning Serie A champions to land him, in a major coup for the Tyneside club.

And Murphy is clearly impressed with what the player will bring to Eddie Howe’s side.

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