Club Friendly: Turbulent Toon Set to Host New-Look Atletico

Newcastle United vs Atletico Madrid

Newcastle United fans are in a bit of a lather right now heading into their final Club Friendly against Atletico Madrid. Hot under the collar, agitated, frustrated, all understandable emotions, as their club tries to strengthen ahead of the new season, all while trying to keep hold of their best player.

My view on the Alexander Isak situation is clear: they need to show strength and insist that their frontman stays on Tyneside, and that the club won’t be bullied into giving up on him. After all, he is a player who helped the Toon Army defy the SBOTOP Club Friendly 2025 betting odds to lead them into the Champions League for the second time in three seasons.

This rounded off a campaign in which they ended 55 years of hurt spectacularly with a memorable League Cup triumph in March against Liverpool with Isak netting a memorable winner.

While the reality is that Isak appears to have been unsettled by interest from elsewhere, surely a sit down and conversation with Eddie Howe, the manager who invested so much time and money in him three years ago this month, can pay dividends – praise after the punishment of being ordered to train separately from his teammates and stay away from a lunchtime training-ground barbecue.

Regardless of whether he is reintegrated into first-team training (and hopefully he will be), Isak seems unlikely to be involved in the Sela Cup at St. James’ Park, where Newcastle seek Club Friendly 2025 highlights against two La Liga sides – Espanyol on Friday night and Atlético Madrid on Saturday afternoon.

So now onto the next issue, the one that appears to be frustrating the Toon faithful just as much: how can they strengthen and not be pipped to their number one targets by Premier League rivals?

Talking Points

So far, this has been a miserable summer for the Tynesiders. Manchester United have all but usurped them for their main striker target, Benjamin Sesko, while Liverpool pipped them to Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt in July.

Boardroom upheaval for the second summer running has presumably not helped with sporting director Paul Mitchell leaving the club in May.

Although there were reportedly initial tensions between manager Eddie Howe and Mitchell over how they worked together, it was rather telling that Howe recognised how such a figure “protects the manager from a lot of things”.

In addition, the club is still looking for a new CEO, hot on the heels of the departures of co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi last summer.

The Geordies have made two good moves to date, recruiting Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale on loan from Southampton.

Yet the reality is the Magpies face a race against time to recruit a centre-back, central midfielder, and at least one striker before the window shuts on September 1 – let alone before the season starts in just over a week.

In terms of pre-season results, Newcastle began their preparations for the new season with a 4-0 victory over Carlisle United, but they lost three straight games against Celtic, Arsenal, and K-League XI before finishing their pre-season tour with a 1-1 draw against Tottenham last time out.

That was an improved scoreline for the Tynesiders, but it has been said many times before, results really are secondary at this stage.

For the hosts, Joe Willock will miss out through injury, while defender Sven Botman is a slight doubt, but Newcastle are otherwise in good shape in terms of their first-team squad. Lewis Hall made his return against Spurs.

Atletico Madrid travel to St James’ Park to face Newcastle in a club friendly, following a recent defeat to Porto — Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone takes charge of training on the eve of their 2025 Club World Cup meeting with Paris Saint-Germain

As for Atletico, who failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the recent World Club Championship, they arrive in England following a 1-0 friendly defeat to Porto.

The summer arrivals have given Diego Simeone’s side a completely new look with the likes of Alex Baena (from Villarreal), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta), David Hancko (Feyenoord), Marc Pubill (Almeria) and Thiago Almada (Botafogo) all vying for a place in the starting XI.

Again, this friendly will provide an interesting opportunity to see how they could shape up when the real action begins.

In truth though, most eyes will be on Newcastle and how ready, or otherwise, they are with the new Premier League season little over a week away.