Newcastle‘s midfield has been weakened by the departure of Sandro Tonali, who joined Tottenham this month in a deal worth up to £100m.

Young midifelders Sean Steur and Aladji Bamba have sinced arrived from Ajax and Monaco respectively.

Although Saturday’s game came too soon for Bamba, whose move was announced on Friday, Steur played 90 minutes.

“He played really well today,” Howe said. “He can be really pleased with his performance and first showing in Newcastle colours.”

It is rare for an academy graduate to leave Ajax at 18, and for a fee worth up to £23m.

However, Newcastle have to take calculated risks before potential signings like Steur potentially explode in value and are out of reach.

Dutchman Steur clearly has promise.

Willem Weijs, who managed Steur at Jong Ajax – the club’s reserve side – has described him as “one of the highest-rated” players in their academy.

There were glimpses of Steur’s technical ability, composure and vision against National League side Gateshead.

But he will need time to adapt to the physicality and intensity of the Premier League.

“He’s outstanding in his first touches and creating options when playing a possession game,” Weijs said.

“He’s good at scanning; really comfortable on the ball; really good in tight spaces.

“He’s a typical Dutch-type midfield player, but he should focus on his points to develop as well, which is for sure the defensive part.

“He should compete better in the duels, spending much more time in the gym. I know he’s working on that, but he can improve and he has to improve.”

Newcastle have shifted strategy this summer, targeting players aged 20 and under and based on the continent.

Steur, Bamba and fellow newcomers Ewen Jaouen and Bazoumana Toure will need patience.

It is one of the many reasons why Howe will desperately want to keep hold of Guimaraes, having lost Isak, Tonali and Anthony Gordon in the past year.

“We all need to be very supportive to the players that have come in,” Howe said.

“I don’t think we can put too much pressure on them. It’s part of my job to try and take the pressure off them and allow them to develop and to enjoy their time here.”

At North Wilkesboro last week, a track left for dead until recently, Joey Logano ended a win drought he’d had since May 2025, and Denny Hamlin (second place) extended his points lead. This week, NASCAR heads to one of the most legendary events on the circuit for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The runner-up last week, Hamlin is favored in the odds and will look to kiss the bricks for the first time.

As always, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi answer our most pressing questions and make predictions about the upcoming race.

The Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on TNT and HBO Max.

The Brickyard 400 race winner odds

Given that passing at the Brickyard 400 is notoriously difficult, how do drivers set themselves apart and what makes a driver singularly made for the Indy oval?

Jeff: This is very much a track position race, but that only emphasizes what it takes to be the best of the best. It’s about unloading with a fast car, putting together a top-notch qualifying lap on the limit, being on top of pit strategy, having excellent restarts and not making a single mistake. It takes everyone on a team to win this race, and that’s why it’s one of the most elite tests in NASCAR and truly one of the great crown jewel races.

Jordan: There is a skill to saving, and this skill is one drivers will certainly be utilizing on Sunday, and the ones who can best do it will put themselves in an advantageous position. Hitting your marks on corner entry is another key facet here, especially paramount because there is only one lane to get around Indianapolis. You miss your mark and your lap time is going to suffer.

While Hamlin is one of the most successful NASCAR drivers ever and is running (or at least walking) away with the points lead this season, he has never won the Brickyard 400. Is this year his year, and what is it about Indy that makes it so difficult for even the best drivers?

Jeff: You only get so many chances at Indianapolis. Take away a three-year stretch when IMS put this race on the road course instead of the oval, take away the Brickyards won by the late Kyle Busch and the retired Kevin Harvick, and there’s a shocking stat: Only three drivers in the field (Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace) have won a Brickyard 400. It underscores how it all has to go right; if a driver has a year when their car isn’t perfect, when the strategy goes awry or when they get caught up in a crash, that’s one chance gone. When you consider even the Hall of Fame drivers only get 15 to 20 chances in a race when every team brings their absolute best each season, it’s just really hard to accomplish.

Jordan: Indianapolis is one of those tracks where every component within a team is absolutely essential to achieving success. A driver must have: a powerful engine because of the long straightaways, a car that handles smoothly through the track’s corners (which really only have one preferred groove) and the ability to save fuel with a crew chief able to devise a strategy to help their driver save fuel and gain track position due to how difficult it is to pass here. And because there are few cautions, there’s an emphasis on green-flag pit stops and the pit crew’s ability to be fast and mistake free. In short, a lot has to go right, and if one thing isn’t at the maximum level for all 400 miles, it can be a lot to overcome.

With Logano’s win last week, the race to make The Chase is heating up. Which of the bubble drivers do you think will move up at the Brickyard 400, and who could slide?

Jeff: We keep doubting Shane van Gisbergen, but this is certainly a time when he could lose some points to the cut line after a great weekend at North Wilkesboro. Similarly, I’m not sure how the Fords will run, which could hurt Logano and Austin Cindric. On the plus side, the Toyotas are expected to be strong, which should be good news for Erik Jones. In some ways, Jones must capitalize on this opportunity if he wants a realistic shot at the Chase.

Jordan: This is a big weekend for Erik Jones, the first driver on the wrong side of The Chase cut line. He dropped in the standings after an underwhelming race last week at North Wilkesboro and cannot afford to lose any more points, especially with how favorable the remainder of the regular season is for some of the guys also on the bubble — notably Penske teammates Logano and Austin Cindric — after Indianapolis. The good news for Jones is that he was fast here a year ago and Toyota stands a good chance of being the dominant manufacturer on Sunday.

Massive underdog in the In-Season Challenge Todd Gilliland is facing Ryan Blaney this week. What are Gilliland’s strengths, how has he made it this far, and can he beat Blaney?

Jeff: Blaney is obviously the favorite, but Gilliland isn’t as much of a long shot as Ty Dillon was last year. Dillon and Kaulig Racing made the final through a series of largely lucky breaks when various misfortunes befell opponents (though the plucky Dillon certainly stepped up when it counted as well). Gilliland, though, hasn’t only made it through his opponents’ attrition, he also has three top-20s in a row, including an eighth-place run last week at North Wilkesboro. That’s not to say he’ll beat Blaney straight up, but his back-to-back sixth-place finishes at the Brickyard 400 are quite an eye-opening stat heading into Sunday.

Jordan: Yeah, he can definitely beat Blaney. And straight up, too. Just look at how Gilliland has performed the past two races at Indianapolis, finishing sixth in both. If he can score a similar finish Sunday, there is a very good chance he’ll walk away with the $1 million prize.

We’ve talked about who could be well suited for a win at Indy this year, but now it’s time to choose your winner.

Jeff: It’s finally Hamlin’s year. It probably would have been his year last season if he didn’t wreck a likely pole-sitting car in qualifying, and he is absolutely going all out on Sunday. The Toyotas will be strongest, and Hamlin has been the leader of those. That said, don’t be surprised if hometown hero Chase Briscoe channels his inner Hoosier and produces some Brickyard magic to climb the fence and win at Indy.

Jordan: The Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing Toyotas should be fast again this weekend, and the drivers for these cars should be atop the odds board, and deservedly so. But don’t overlook Kyle Larson, who is almost always fast here — he won this race in 2024 and finished runner-up last year — and is overdue to snap his year-plus winless streak. And if this race centers around strategy, as it so often does, Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, is one of the best at crafting a winning plan.

Who are some long shots you like to win or finish among the top 10?

Jeff: Again, I’m going Toyotas here. So on that note, why not consider Riley Herbst? Not only did his 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace win this race last year, but the Brickyard was the site of Herbst’s signature win in the O’Reilly Series in 2024 after NASCAR returned to the oval. I could absolutely see a top-10 finish out of Herbst, and I also don’t think it’s too far-fetched to think San Diego street course race winner Corey Heim (running his part-time No. 67 car for 23XI again) could have another great day.

Jordan: Todd Gilliland is 2-for-2 in scoring top-10 finishes here, plus he and his team are placing a big emphasis on this race because of the $1 million prize at stake.

Just for fun: Theoretically, which era’s car — the 1990’s famed Gen-4 or today’s Next Gen — would win in a battle at Indianapolis Motor Speedway?

Jeff: As much as people want to take a shot at the Next Gen car, it’s faster than the cars from the ‘90s around IMS. That said, if you want to take the Gen-6 car into account, that’s the one that holds the qualifying record here (with Kevin Harvick in 2014). Those cars were significantly faster than the Next Gen around this track.

Jordan: Based on pure speed, the Next Gen car would win. The pole speed for last year’s race was nearly a half-second quicker than the pole speed the last time the Gen-4 car raced here. That’s a considerable difference. And the Next Gen car is also more durable than the Gen-4, another big advantage for the modern car.