Jenas: Newcastle can finish in top four – but need to sign a James Maddison or Harvey Barnes in January

Former Newcastle midfielder Jermaine Jenas has told William Hill that the Magpies’ Champions League challenge must be taken seriously, but adds they will need to spend money in January if they are to finish in the top four, with James Maddison and Harvey Barnes among the players they should be looking to sign.

“I think for Newcastle to finish in the top four they’ve got to have a good splurge in January,” Jenas told William Hill. “But I think they’ve got a chance, I really do. There’s no doubt about it, they’re going to go all the way this season and push the Premier League’s big clubs. Their defence has looked absolutely solid and they’ve been scoring goals at will at the moment, so there’s a lot to like about how they’re playing.

“Whether they do finish in the top four come May, it’s a tough one, they’re going to be very close. A lot will depend on how Manchester United, Spurs and Chelsea do. And Liverpool, no matter what’s happened so far this season, they’re going to be a part of the conversation for the top four come the end of it. It’s about which team will have that longevity and consistency and at the minute this is the first time in a long time where Newcastle are in the situation where they can go on long winning runs.”

“But they do need to strengthen those wider areas,” Jenas added. “In the areas where Miguel Almiron – as well as he’s playing – or Allan Saint-Maximin play. All teams can be improved. There’s a couple of players at Leicester that can improve them – James Maddison or Harvey Barnes. I would like to see Newcastle move for one of them. they would certainly improve the club.

“What they need is depth. When you start going back to the likes of Chris Wood or Jamaal Lascelles you start to fall back to type. But if they can just add a little bit more depth to what they’ve already got… I’m not saying go and sign Neymar or a big superstar, I think that just derails things if you do it too quickly. And with Eddie Howe and his methods and how he likes to play, the best thing about Newcastle is they’re a team and doing it as a unit, so he has to find those players that will fit in as a part of that.”

But pushed on whether he thinks Newcastle will ultimately finish in the top four this season, he said: “I still feel like they’ve got results in them that are not going to be consistent enough for them throughout the season. I hope they can make it, and they’re definitely capable of it, but I just think they’ll fall short.”

Callum Wilson deserves spot in England squad

Key to Newcastle’s recent form has been the performances of Callum Wilson, and Jenas says he would definitely have him in his England squad for the World Cup.

“I would take Callum Wilson,” he said. “If you’re taking four strikers I’d take Harry Kane, Callum Wilson, Ivan Toney and Tammy Abraham. I’d have Marcus Rashford in there as a wide player. The problem Gareth Southgate has got is he hasn’t got enough goalscorers in the team going into the World Cup. There’s Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling but after that there’s not many that do it week-in, week-out. That’s part of the reason I think James Maddison should be in the squad, as he’s a goalscorer as well as a creator.

“The question with Callum has always been fitness. If he’s fit then we’re not even having this conversation. He’s a goalscorer and one of the best English goalscorers in the Premier League. It’s not even a question of is he good enough, it’s whether he’s going to be fit. So I hope that he’s fit as if he is then he’ll definitely be on the plane.”

Marseille win catalyst for Spurs season – starting with Liverpool

Jenas went on to talk about another of his former clubs in Tottenham, admitting that some of Spurs’ recent football has been difficult to watch, but that Tuesday’s win against Marseille can be a catalyst for the rest of their season – starting with Liverpool on Sunday.

“It’s the expectation of Spurs that’s not being met with performances but is being met by results,” Jenas said. “They’re third in the league, into the Champions League knockouts, you can’t argue with their points return. But you watch them in that first half against Marseille and it was sad – you’ve got all these great players on the pitch and you want to camp on the edge of your box and hang on from minute one? That’s got to shift because the deeper we get into the season, you won’t keep getting away with those performances.

“There was a period in that first half where I was thinking, ‘he’s not going to stay’ when I was looking at Antonio Conte. I thought ‘this is a team that is going backwards’, and I was trying to work out why they were performing the way they were performing, because on the back of last year going into this year, with all the signings, it was all really positive…”

Jenas added: “You have to hope that Marseille win is going to be the catalyst for them moving forwards now. They’ve got another monster of a game against Liverpool at the weekend – and as it stands, most of the big tests they’ve had they’ve failed.

“You could say they got a point against Chelsea, but they were favourites going into that game and got battered and they were lucky to get a point. Manchester United destroyed them the other day and Arsenal destroyed them – they weren’t even close. This is the next one in line. Liverpool, no matter what’s happened so far this season, they’re going to be a part of the conversation for the top four come the end of it. They’re a rival and Spurs need to make sure they don’t lose this game.

“It’s a big, big moment for Tottenham, this. If they win this, the belief will be there that they can go and achieve things this season. But I think it’ll be a draw, both sides don’t want to give up too much and Spurs aren’t the type of team at the moment that are playing expansive football and will go all out for the win.”