Angus is an experienced football journalist at Football FanCast, specialising in Premier League reporting, opinion writing and in-depth football analysis. Since graduating from Southampton Solent University in 2022, he has developed extensive experience covering the English game, producing thousands of articles across a wide range of clubs and competitions.  

Before joining Football FanCast, Angus led VAVEL's Brighton & Hove Albion department, gaining valuable experience in club-specific reporting and editorial leadership. He subsequently joined Football FanCast through Snack Media's academy, now part of Valnet, and has progressed into the publication's Opinions and Features team.
 

As one of Football FanCast's longest-serving writers, Angus has covered numerous major developments across the Premier League, combining breaking news experience with detailed features and considered opinions. His work draws on years of reporting to provide context behind performances, transfer activity and the wider issues shaping English football.

It's sacking season in the Premier League, but for now, it looks like Newcastle United manager Matthias Jaissle is safe from the axe.

PIF have been calm about the Toon's situation, struggling for form and fluency as a unit after last year's startling collapse under Eddie Howe. Newcastle finished 12th in the Premier League last season, and then saw their crisis deepen as their superstars all fled.

Losing Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes has proved damaging for the Magpies, but there's a strong case to be made that the record-breaking sale of Alexander Isak to Liverpool one year before cut deeper than all the exits of 2026.

Why Newcastle are still suffering from Isak sale

Described as "one of the hottest strikers in the world" by The Athletic's Chris Waugh back in 2024, Isak became a force of nature across three years in England with Newcastle, scoring so many goals and playing a leading role for a Champions League club who won the Carabao Cup in 2025. Isak scored in that one, defeating Liverpool ast Wembley, months before his move to Anfield.

Liverpool paid £125m, a British record, to sign the 27-year-old, and though he hasn't enjoyed the same kind of success with the Reds thus far, there's no forgetting his world-class performances under Howe's wing.

Admittedly, Newcastle could have done more in attempting to replace their former talisman. Last summer, Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa arrived for expensive fees, and neither has cut the mustard in attack for the Toon.

Isak offered so much more than any of his successors in attack for Newcastle over the past season-and-a-bit. However, though Jaissle and co can't do anything than work with the forwards at their disposal right now, they could find the club's best player since Isak residing in the ranks.

He now needs to start playing.

Newcastle's biggest talent since Isak is sat warming the bench

Newcastle might not have the sharpest frontline in the Premier League, but their issues are not restricted to blunt attacking play. Jaissle's side lack dynamism when on the ball, struggling to create and sustain attacks while restricting their opponents' attempts at goal.

It's clear that midfielders such as Joelinton, Joe Willock and Nico Gonzalez are struggling to gel right now - so why not unleash Sean Steur as a secret weapon from the middle of the pitch?

Steur, a £23m signing from Ajax, preceded Jaissle's arrival this summer, with Howe recognising the 18-year-old's potential to grow into the shoes vacated by the likes of Tonali and Guimaraes.

He established himself across 14 Eredivisie starts last season, and now looks ready to play a prominent role for a Newcastle side who cry out for his skillset but fail to award him the consistency he needs to acclimatise to the Premier League.

So far for Newcastle, Jaissle has determined to ease Steur into the thick of things, but this clearly needs to stop. Steur clearly needs to take up a central role in an outfit struggling to find their way.

Is it any surprise that Steur stood out when unleashed from the start during the recent 1-1 draw against Fulham? He completed 95% of his passes while never ceasing to seek openings in promising positions. It's early days yet, but the young Dutchman has the look of a rising superstar who could end up outstripping all those around him.

The sooner Jaissle recognises that he has an Isak-esque focal point at his disposal, albeit from a different tactical standpoint, the better Newcastle will do as they struggle to find a way to counter a spate of sales which has drowned the club's title-challenging aspirations in the short term.

Steur might be young, but we need only hark back to that performance against Hull to see that he has the technicality and natural fire in his belly to make his mark and become the difference-maker in a Newcastle side crying out for a talisman.