Newcastle United have struggled to fulfil their promise of taking the club to the 'very next level' and you cannot blame their marquee players if they want to leave, according to former Magpies midfielder Jermaine Jenas.
Newcastle's stagnation and player exits
Newcastle are facing a season without European football after finishing 12th in the Premier League. Having finished inside the top seven in each of the previous three seasons and qualifying for the Champions League twice, the Magpies appear to be struggling to break through the glass ceiling to establish themselves among the elite.
Anthony Gordon has already left this summer to join Barcelona, and Sandro Tonali could follow amid interest from Tottenham and Manchester City. This comes after losing Alexander Isak last summer, with Newcastle admitting they might have to sell players to bring in new recruits.
Jenas's verdict on player ambition
Speaking to 10bet, Jenas said: "I'm not 100% sure what's going on behind the scenes. I don't know whether it's just purely and simply because they haven't been able to spend the money they wanted to. I don't think you can blame Tonali, Guimarães, or Anthony Gordon. They all came in on the promise of the football club being taken to the very next level."
"There were signs of that, don't get me wrong - they won some silverware and had their run in the Champions League - but they've obviously just hit a bump in the road with the finances. In doing so, it unfortunately doesn't allow you to keep these kinds of players."
"They are players who are going to be demanding top-tier European football, and if Newcastle are not delivering that, then I think they've all been at the football club long enough to deserve to move on if they want to."
Lewis Hall interest from Manchester United
Left-back Lewis Hall is another player linked with a move away, with Manchester United monitoring his situation after he was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award last season. Jenas believes it would be an excellent move for the England international.
"I think it's a great move for him," Jenas added. "He's had a fantastic couple of years at Newcastle. He was obviously a huge Newcastle United fan after going there from Chelsea, but he's one of those players that people looked at and said he should probably be at the World Cup."
"Like I said, he's had a good, solid year; his development year-in, year-out seems to be getting better and better. For a club like Manchester United to come in for him is a huge step in the right direction—not only for United, but it's also a big loss for Newcastle. For him and his personal career, it's a great move."
