Eddie Howe has admitted Newcastle have “massively over-achieved” this season and will have to spend big in the summer if they are to match it next time around. The Magpies secured a return to the Champions League after a 20-year absence when Monday night’s 0-0 draw with Leicester guaranteed a top-four finish ahead of Sunday’s final-day trip to Chelsea. That represents a significant upgrade on the club’s target at the start of the campaign, and it will require further investment from their Saudi-backed owners this summer to ensure they can compete on all fronts. Asked if he was looking forward to that challenge, head coach Howe said: “Ask me in a few months. I don’t know if it’s something you look forward to, but the dynamic will have changed for us. “I think we have massively over-achieved this year for where we were at the start of the season and to keep over-achieving – and that’s what we’re going to have to do to match the expectation – is going to be our biggest challenge.” Newcastle have already spent in excess of £250million on players in the three transfer windows since Amanda Staveley’s consortium bought out Mike Ashley in October 2021, and while they have bought astutely and been richly rewarded, Howe is conscious that task will become more challenging. They will shop this summer in a different market to the one the 45-year-old might have anticipated. The club has long-standing interest in West Ham’s Declan Rice and Leicester’s James Maddison with both tipped to be on the move this summer, although Rice in particular will have suitors, some with even deeper pockets, queuing up. Asked if his wish-list would include “marquee” signings, Howe said: “Yes, there would be players we’d love to bring in that would be classified in that bracket, I’m sure. “For me, it’s more about the role they can fulfil in the team – whether that’s viewed positively or as a marquee signing, then great. “I’m not in my mind thinking, ‘We have to have one of those players that ticks that box for the supporters’. As much as I’d love to do that, it’s about finding the right player in the right position who I think makes us better.” For all Newcastle’s new-found wealth, Howe has been at pains throughout his reign to stress that unbridled spending is simply not an option, and that the club will have to continue to invest shrewdly. Yes, we are going to have to spend a certain amount of money. How much that is, I don’t know Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe He said: “Unfortunately players don’t come cheap, especially good players. Yes, we are going to have to spend a certain amount of money. How much that is, I don’t know. “I still don’t know what my budget is at this moment in time, but there will have to be some expenditure. It will have to be controlled. It will have to be under FFP restrictions, which we have worked under and will continue to work under. They are definitely impacting us and what we will be able to do.” Howe will be without keeper Nick Pope at Stamford Bridge after he underwent surgery on a hand injury, and he will join Jamaal Lascelles, Javier Manquillo, Matt Ritchie, Joelinton and Joe Willock on the sidelines. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Don’t be overawed by Wembley, says Liam Kelly as Coventry aim for Premier League Cricket Ireland defends decision to rest Josh Little for England Test Marc Skinner demands Man Utd focus on their own job in WSL season finale

It was a seven-minute snapshot into the enduring enigma of Darwin Nunez. There was the profligacy and the potential to be prolific, the glaring miss and the terrific goal, the possibility he could have been the man to cost Liverpool victory and the eventuality that the pivotal moment in their sixth successive win was his strike. In a world of certain guarantees, David Moyes’ record at Anfield remains one: after 20 trips as a manager, the Scot still has not won, despite the chances West Ham had to end the former Everton manager’s long wait. But Nunez remains the great wildcard. The only guarantee is unpredictability and, if Nunez himself is not entirely sure what will happen, opponents can stand little chance. West Ham first benefited and then suffered from Nunez being Nunez. Liverpool fashioned two glorious opportunities shortly after half-time. Mohamed Salah released the Uruguayan for the first: unmarked, by the penalty spot, he sliced a shot wide. When Alexis Mac Allister chipped a pass over the West Ham defence, the £64m man timed his run and angled his volley, perhaps in ungainly fashion, but certainly in an effective manner. And so the table is taking on a familiar look, with Liverpool the closest challengers to Manchester City, as they often have been in recent years. That owes something to Nunez: mainly his explosive double at Newcastle, in perhaps the most startling comeback of the season so far. His return for the Premier League campaign now stands at a goal every 73 minutes, surrounded by examples of wastefulness. Perhaps Liverpool have to accept the trade-off with Nunez: that his physicality and irrepressibility mean he will enjoy plenty of opportunities and the probability that some will be missed in embarrassing fashion. Yet on a day when their other two goals were scored by more clinical finishers, in Salah and the substitute Diogo Jota, Liverpool offered an example of their firepower. Nunez’s charisma is such that Salah can find himself overshadowed on occasions but the Egyptian was the outstanding player on the pitch. He extended his record of either scoring or assisting in each of his last 13 games with a penalty he both won and converted. Jota came off the bench to clinch victory: part of Jurgen Klopp’s task is perming the correct options from his five main forwards and Nunez, granted just a second start of the league campaign, proved the right choice for this. The Portuguese’s sharpness makes him a valuable substitute and he had the predatory sense to volley in when Virgil van Dijk headed Andy Robertson’s cross into the six-yard box. Nunez had departed by then, but his contribution to Liverpool’s opener was typically idiosyncratic. It involved each of the front three. Luis Diaz, who oozed menace, fed a pass into the penalty area. It flicked off Nunez’s boot, perhaps without his knowledge, for Salah. He was upended by Nayef Aguerd and rifled in the resulting penalty. And yet what both preceded and followed it was revealing of both teams. For a side who have had a terrific start to the season, Liverpool are slow at beginning games. They often trail and, even on a day when they struck first, they could have conceded twice in the opening eight minutes. First Tomas Soucek meeting Lucas Paqueta’s cross with a header Alisson saved superbly. Then, when Soucek crossed, Michail Antonio made a mess of his header. There is a fragility at the back, with clean sheets rarities this season, but their potent attack can find ways of compensating. Meanwhile, even in defeat, West Ham showed why they briefly topped the table. Moyes’ men have a threat and, without wanting much possession, some ambition on the ball. Jarrod Bowen was both excellent and, in his own way, their Nunez. The winger equalised, stooping to head in Vladimir Coufal’s cross, guiding it past Alisson; Van Dijk’s attempt to stop the scorer lacked conviction. Any feelings of injustice West Ham had when the winger had been denied a penalty a couple of minutes earlier after a Mac Allister challenge were channelled into levelling. Yet Bowen, too, spurned a golden chance: unmarked, heading straight at Alisson from James Ward-Prowse’s free kick, a few minutes before Nunez restored Liverpool’s lead. And so West Ham, who had acquitted themselves well against City last week and lost 3-1, repeated the scoreline and with a similar sense. History repeated itself in another respect: they were defeated by a Nunez goal on their previous visit to Anfield. Amid the wildness of his game, the confusion as to what will happen, perhaps the one certainty is that he will score at home against West Ham. Read More Jurgen Klopp hails ‘massive steps’ made by Darwin Nunez after latest Liverpool goal Jurgen Klopp hails ‘massive steps’ made by Darwin Nunez after latest Liverpool goal Liverpool vs West Ham United LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Why isn’t Liverpool vs West Ham live on TV?

Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney met with Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag ahead of their pre-season friendly in in San Diego, California, on Tuesday. The pair were seen having a conversation and laughing before McElhenney shook Ten Hag’s hand and wished him good luck for the match. It was his Wrexham side that were victorious, beating their Premier League opposition 3-1 thanks to goals from Elliot Lee, Aaron Hayden and Sam Dalby. The Welsh side will play in League Two next season, after a 15-year EFL absence.

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