Newcastle United had some new faces on offer in their final pre-season game.
Will Osula slotted home on his debut for Newcastle as Eddie Howe’s side won the Sela Cup with victory over Brest, but the striker’s effort was disallowed for a narrow offside decision.
Still, there have been some promising signs from the former Sheffield United striker, although with the obvious caveat that pre-season games are not always indicative of the future.
Osula was not the only new face at St James’ Park. In fact, Lloyd Kelly was involved in setting up the disallowed goal, playing the ball from behind to Harvey Barnes, who fired it into the striker’s path.
Howe has already hinted that Kelly could start next weekend’s Premier League match against Southampton and was pleased with his performance on Saturday.
Eddie Howe praises Lloyd Kelly as Newcastle’s “outstanding player”
Howe praised the win that started Newcastle’s new season and praised Kelly as one of the team’s most outstanding players.
“I was really pleased with Lloyd today, I think he was one of our standout players,” he said (via Dominic Scurr of the Shields Gazette on social media platform X).
“I thought he looked really good on the ball, very agile and athletic, and he defended really well.”
Lloyd Kelly could be a great signing for Newcastle
Newcastle’s defensive problems last season were so great that it is understandable that Howe is trying to sign Marc Guehi to reinforce Kelly in defence.
While the excitement over the potential signing of Guehi is understandable, Kelly could be an equally suitable addition.
With Premier League experience, familiarity with Howe’s methods from his time at Bournemouth and the ability to play as either a left-back or a centre-back, Kelly has all the qualities to make an immediate impact at Newcastle.
He may not be the most glamorous name, but as CEO Darren Eales has said, the low-profile signings could actually be of great importance to Newcastle.
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