The writing was undoubtedly on the wall when Alexander Isak forced through a move to Liverpool, and both Yoane Wissa, post-injury, and Nick Woltemade proved not to be the answer to the Magpies' striker woes.
Newcastle struggling to qualify for Europe
Anthony Gordon's goalscoring form in the Champions League and his form more generally have been one of the brighter spots, but there's been precious little else for the Geordie faithful to be truly excited about.
That there are strong rumours suggesting Eddie Howe's time as manager of the North East giants could soon be coming to an end is telling.
With six games left of the Premier League season, Newcastle find themselves languishing in 14th place in the table, 10 points away from Liverpool in the final qualifying spot for Champions League football next season, and five points away from Brentford, who are currently in seventh spot and would qualify for next season's Conference League.
Though qualifying for any sort of European football next season will be difficult, it isn't impossible, and with Howe always espousing the positives, the Magpies could yet end 2025/26 with a late flourish.
Arguably, there's an inherent need for them to do so, too.
Clubs circling for Magpies' best players
When the Saudi Public Investment Fund took over the club from Mike Ashley, it was with a view to making Newcastle the most successful football club in the country.
Whilst they've had their moments, and the Carabao Cup final win would be one, the squad hasn't really progressed in the manner expected.
If they're not able to haul themselves into European contention in these final few matches, it leaves the way clear for the vultures to circle for the club's best players.
One such star, whose performances continue to improve, is Lewis Hall.
Impressive form from Lewis Hall
So far this season, he's made 41 appearances under Howe, his most in a single campaign to date, evidencing his growing importance. A bigger role in the England senior squad has also done him no harm whatsoever.
His impressive form has certainly got a number of clubs interested in testing the waters regarding a possible transfer, though he's unlikely to come cheap, given his current contract with Newcastle doesn't run out until June 2029, meaning the club isn't under any immediate pressure to sell.
It's understood that tentative enquiries have been made from one or two European teams; however, the most serious interest is believed to have come from Chelsea and Arsenal.
The Blues could be ready to offload Marc Cucurella, who hinted at a possible Barcelona switch in a recent interview, whilst Mikel Arteta could well move Myles Lewis-Skelly on if there's the opportunity to bring Hall to the club.
Brilliant numbers
There are numerous reasons why clubs would be keen to sign the 21-year-old, too.
For a start, his tackle success rate of 58.7% is amongst the best in the Newcastle squad, and just four players have made more than his 79 clearances this season.
42 interceptions are only bettered by Sandro Tonali and Malick Thiaw, with Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Fabian Schar and Thiaw the four players to have made more than Hall's 44 headed clearances.
Given that all four are centre-backs, that's only to be expected, with Hall the 'next best' in the entire squad in this regard.
As impressive as this, is the fact that Hall has won possession the second-most times in the squad (199), with Tonali (223) being the only player to improve upon Hall's figure.
It's that tenacity that's made him a firm favourite with the St. James' Park faithful, and attempting 385 duels is only three shy of Burn's 388, which no one in a black and white shirt can top.
Of those, Hall has won 224, giving him a success rate of 58.2%, behind only Thiaw of those players who have contested 300 or more one-on-ones.
Hall is also a player who loves to get forward at every opportunity, and who would therefore suit progressive attacking teams such as Arsenal and Chelsea.
His 80.1% pass completion is a great return, with his 931 passes attempted this season being the fourth-highest output.
He'll need to improve on getting just six shots on target in 25/26 and a shot conversion rate of just 3.9% if he wants to be a success elsewhere, however.
His crossing, too, has been well below par in the current campaign, with only 13 (17.3%) finding a teammate.
One can't forget, of course, that he's still effectively at the very beginning of his career, he's already posting such decent numbers, and has years to improve upon them.
