Newcastle United, founded in 1892, remain one of English football’s larger institutions, rooted at St James’ Park and carrying the weight of a support that expects the place to matter. For Celtic supporters, they sit in that familiar category of English club with scale, noise and money, rather than any great mystery.
The squad is valued at around £592m by Transfermarkt, with 31 players and an average age of 24. That points to a group built with both depth and resale in mind, though not one that was always consistent in its output last season.
At home last season they averaged 1.9 goals scored and 1.6 conceded per match, a profile that suggests entertainment was not in short supply. Away from St James’ Park, the numbers were more modest: 0.9 scored and 1.3 conceded on average. Their recent league form underlined that unevenness, with defeats to Fulham, Arsenal and Bournemouth sitting alongside wins over West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Anthony Gordon led their scoring with 17 goals, followed closely by Harvey Barnes on 16. Nick Woltemade reached 11, while Bruno Guimarães and Will Osula both scored nine. They were not especially regular fast starters, scoring inside the first 20 minutes in five of 16 league matches.
Newcastle enter the 2026-27 pre-season as an established English side with a valuable, relatively young squad and a clear home advantage. For Celtic, they are a useful benchmark: physically strong, well-resourced, and likely to test concentration at both ends of the pitch.
