Newcastle Toons
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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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OXFORD, ENGLAND – JANUARY 28: Grant Hanley of Newcastle United in action during The Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Oxford United and Newcastle United at Kassam Stadium on January 28, 2017 in Oxford, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
OXFORD, ENGLAND – JANUARY 28: Grant Hanley of Newcastle United in action during The Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Oxford United and Newcastle United at Kassam Stadium on January 28, 2017 in Oxford, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) /

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Grant Hanley: All indications are that Hanley will depart this summer from Newcastle. His performance against Preston surely wasn’t one that would sway Rafa to keep him. After a disappointing 2016-17 campaign, he struggled last night. He was clumsy in his tackles and was caught out of position on occasion.

Related Story: Newcastle set to dump Hanley

He doesn’t have the pace to erase mistakes easily, so his errors are more noticeable. In all likelihood, Hanley is one of the “six players that need to depart” according to Rafa. The addition of Lejeune makes him absolutely expendable.

Mohamed Diame: His performance wasn’t exactly poor, but it wasn’t where it needed to be coming off a season that he admittedly wasn’t his best. Some of his passes in the midfield were lazy and easily intercepted by Preston midfielders.

He will need to showcase he can make plays in the midfield to secure a spot in the preferred starting XI. Diame may be better suited for a more defensive position, as I mentioned at times last season. He could possibly be a player that can push Jack Colback for his spot.

Christian Atsu: Similar to Diame, Atsu’s performance wasn’t a negative one, just not a largely positive one. His explosive runs down the wing were minimal and he lost the ball too easily on a few occasions.

Atsu actually was more vital to the defense last night, tracking back with a purpose to cut off runs by Preston. With Jacob Murphy’s signing and Rolando Aarons healthy, competition will be high on the wings this season. Atsu will need to be a game changer down the flanks in his first full season as an official Newcastle United player.