Newcastle are going to be new around here after a really long break. They qualified for the Champions League in the 2003/04 season the last time. It must be times with Alan Shearer. Now they don't have one of the best squads in the EPL though. They have just consolidated the squad a little more after the sale of the team.
However this was still enough for them to make it to top 4. But to maintain this level they need to increase the squad quality more than this. Tonali has joined the team which I call a really good transfer to the area between defense and the centre of midfield. He can secure the defense area more as a solid defensive midfielder.
But there is still a need for more transfers if they aim to do some noteworthy things in the Champions League. It is important for the EPL and CL both of course.
But nobody expected them to do as well as they did in the Premier League last season and I find it a bit difficult to predict how much potential is still left to be used in the team they have and what kind of players they can sign during the transfer window that is still open for some time. I wouldn't underestimate them while at the same time not expect too much, but it is one of these teams that could be able to surprise us during the group stage. There have been underdogs in the past beating the favorites during the group stage and I wouldn't call Newcastle an underdog. They are something in between because they are not known very well yet.
Newcastle United is having tag of surprise package in last season because in presence of teams like Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham they have fourth spot which is impressive now first time they are jumping into Champions League even have no high expectations, but things are looking good for them because they have target of going with long term planning and most chances if they have something positive this could be also good for them because now their main focus is still having place into top four in Premier League and it's never been easy with now many changes are happening and teams are increasing their potential for fighting hard in future.
If they reach into knock out stage this could be impressive for them because things are surely not good, but they have enough quality to do things as they need to have better end of next season as well.
I think Newcastle United is in a great spot right now also in the Champions League as the expectations aren't that high a for other teams. If they get knocked out in the group stage, nobody will really talk negatively about them since they don't have the Messis and Ronaldos on their team and everyone thinks they must win the title. For PSG the talk started as soon as they did not win a game even in the group stage. This is where it is much more comfortable for Newcastle and they can deeply put their focus onto things that are important. It's the training and the analysis and they can see what's possible in the competition. I think sometimes it can be quite freeing to not be omnipresent in the media that is raising the pressure for weeks and months before the first game even started.