Struggles at St. James’

Steve Bruce’s men are of course currently in the midst of a concerning spell of form.

The Magpies, remarkably, have failed to secure a single victory in any of their last 9 outings across all competitions.

This stretch includes an FA Cup exit at the hands of Arsenal, League Cup defeat to Brentford, and, most worryingly of all, a 1-0 downing at the hands of Premier League basement dwellers Sheffield United – the Blades’ only league win of the campaign to date.

Next up for Newcastle, meanwhile, is another tricky test this weekend, when the Geordie outfit will make the trip to high-flying Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.

ASM latest

As outlined above, though, ahead of their visit to Villa Park, Bruce and co. have today been handed a timely boost.

Newcastle’s struggles of late have come with a host of the club’s key performers, at one point or another, having been confined to the sidelines.

A Covid-19 outbreak in the Magpies’ squad proved particularly hard-hitting, with star pair Jamaal Lascelles and and Allan Saint-Maximin having been forced to sit out the majority of their side’s hectic festive fixture list.

The former, though, has since returned to the pitch, and played all 90 minutes as Newcastle were put to the sword by Arsenal earlier this week.

And, if the latest images to have surfaced online this evening are anything to go by, then it appears it won’t be long before Lascelles is joined in Steve Bruce’s starting XI by Saint-Maximin.

This comes with the Frenchman, who’s creative influence has been sorely missed of late, having been spotted alongside the rest of the club’s squad in first-team training on Thursday:

Saint-Maximin working with the group 😍 https://t.co/96WCuFdJgg#NUFC pic.twitter.com/A3a2oIPbgh

— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) January 21, 2021

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This article was edited by
Josh Barker.