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Newcastle United: Toon Takeaways from the friendly vs. Preston

By Carson A Merk

PRESTON, ENGLAND - JULY 22: Aleksandar Mitrovic of Newcastle United holds off a challenge from Greg Cunningham of Preston North End during a pre-season friendly match between Preston North End and Newcastle United at Deepdale on July 22, 2017 in Preston, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
PRESTON, ENGLAND - JULY 22: Aleksandar Mitrovic of Newcastle United holds off a challenge from Greg Cunningham of Preston North End during a pre-season friendly match between Preston North End and Newcastle United at Deepdale on July 22, 2017 in Preston, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /
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PRESTON, ENGLAND – JULY 22: Aleksandar Mitrovic of Newcastle United holds off a challenge from Greg Cunningham of Preston North End during a pre-season friendly match between Preston North End and Newcastle United at Deepdale on July 22, 2017 in Preston, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
PRESTON, ENGLAND – JULY 22: Aleksandar Mitrovic of Newcastle United holds off a challenge from Greg Cunningham of Preston North End during a pre-season friendly match between Preston North End and Newcastle United at Deepdale on July 22, 2017 in Preston, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /

Newcastle United came away with a 1-1 draw in their friendly against Preston North End.

In their second friendly this preseason, Newcastle United finished level with their former Sky Bet Championship foe Preston North End. It was a match that saw two Magpies’ debuts and Rafa making use of two full squads of players in front of a solid crowd at Deepdale.

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Jacob Murphy and Javier Manquillo saw their first time as Newcastle United men. DeAndre Yedlin also made his first appearance this preseason. Florian Lejeune featured for the second time, this time a start.

Siem de Jong looked good again this match in a playmaking midfield role. Chancel Mbemba got another start and he’s a player Rafa seems keen on giving a legitimate chance to be a key player this season. Aleksandar Mitrovic started ahead of Dwight Gayle and was the star of the match. Rob Elliot started in goal, followed by Karl Darlow and Freddie Woodman. Matt Ritchie is still recovering from offseason surgery and Jamaal Lascelles traveled, but was not featured. Jonjo Shelvey was captain in his absence. Not traveling with the team was Tim Krul, Achraf Lazaar and Emmanuel Riviere. That is probably an indication they will not be around Tyneside much longer.

After the match, Rafa mentioned at least six players will need to depart the club this summer to round out the roster. While he’s focused on signing more talented players, he’s also keen on sending out less impressive ones. The rumored six could be Krul, Lazaar, Riviere, Saivet, Hanley, and Darlow.

Next up for Newcastle United’s preseason slate is a midweek matchup with Bradford. The Magpies will travel to Valley Parade for a Wednesday evening fixture against the League One side. The clubs have history of a positive loan relationship. Currently, Alex Gilliead is on loan with Bradford and was preceded by Haris Vuckic, Curtis Good, and others.