Difficult to believe that we are less than four weeks into this latest Newcastle United season.
A summer that brought so much change.
Fair to say that your average Newcastle United fan was looking at the situation with some trepidation ahead of the competitive stuff kicking off.
So what have we learnt in these opening half dozen matches that have brought three wins, two draws and one defeat?
I wanted to run through the positives that have stood out for me.
These are the stand out success stories at Newcastle United on the pitch so far this season.
Lewis Hall
We all know what a brilliant player the lifelong United fan is. A huge boost to see him signing a new extended and enhanced contract.
Lewis Hall looks back to something like his best and that best is something special.
Amar Dedic
Signed for Newcastle United on the Tuesday and five days later was starting against Liverpool.
Already some outstanding performances against the likes of Liverpool and Spurs, the full-back also has three assists already.
Thrown in at the deep end and having to start all six opening matches in a short space of time has been a huge ask. Like the rest of the team found things tougher in the first half of both the Bournemouth and Leeds matches.
Still looks a great signing and now Tino Livramento is back to share the workload and Amar Dedic looks a real asset.
Yoane Wissa
Even his biggest critics must be now wondering what could have happened if he didn’t get that cruel serious injury before he had even kicked a ball for Newcastle United?
That injury ruined his and arguably Newcastle’s league season.
Yoane Wissa was an excellent all round attacking player for Brentford across a number of years and that is what we are seeing now for United. Has already scored one in the Premier League and got an assist, he will have a significant number of goal contributions this season if steering clear of injury.
Lukas Hornicek
Two clean sheets so far in his five matches and looks a great signing.
Lukas Hornicek has made some excellent saves already and very good with his distribution, whilst with experience he will gain extra confidence when dealing with crosses.
Anthony Elanga
A bit like Yoane Wissa, Newcastle United fans seeing the player who we’d thought/hoped had arrived in summer 2025.
Great all round play, a big attacking threat, brilliant goals against Liverpool and Tottenham.
Absolutely crushing blow that it sounds like he could be missing for a significant length of time. Here’s hoping the reality won’t prove so bad.
Sean Steur
Another who was thrown in the deep end, an 18-year-old who had made a handful of starts in the weak Dutch league finding himself making his first start for NUFC against Liverpool.
Sean Steur has featured in all six of the opening matches and has backed up what his form suggested in pre-season.
Looks a brilliant signing with a very high ceiling in terms of future potential. A steep learning curve for one so young and inexperienced, he will have learnt a lot from that Leeds match and especially that suicidal pass that gifted the killer second goal.
He is having to learn on the job and overall has been outstanding for one so young.