Exclusive: Former Magpies Midfielder Confident Newcastle Will Build on Carabao Cup with League Title Next Season

Former Newcastle midfielder Gael Bigirimana believes that the club will build on its Carabao Cup victory and clinch the elusive English Premier League title in the 2025-2026 season.

Newcastle snapped their 70-year-old title drought in style after humbling Liverpool 2-1 to lay hands on the Carabao Cup, at Wembley Stadium, on March 16.

Liverpool were strong pre-match favourites, but it is Newcastle who prevailed thanks to goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak, that effectively rendered Federico Chiesa's late strike to a mere consolation.

The final was done and dusted two weeks ago, but the celebrations still feel fresh for Newcastle fans, as the majority of them, perhaps, had never lived such kind of a moment.

With the existing title jinx broken, it is only fair for the Newcastle fraternity to dream of bigger things, with Bigirimana at the forefront championing the EPL title coming to St. James Park next season.

NEWCASTLE RIPE FOR PREMIER LEAGUE TITLE

The Magpies have been a fairly decent and competitive side since the Saudi takeover and the arrival of coach Eddie Howe in November 2021.

Their rise from potential relegation candidates to title challengers, under the English manager, is indicative of the positive strides made in the pursuit of the first title since the rebranding of the english top tier, 31 years ago.

Howe guided the club to a fourth-place finish in the 2021-2022 season and consequently, Newcastle returned to the UEFA Champions League after 20 years in the cold.

Although the club mark-timed in the subsequent 2022-2023 season, the scent of a title filled the North East of England, as Newcastle reached the Carabao Cup final, losing 2-0 to Manchester United.

Last season, an injury-plagued Newcastle finished fifth, missing out on Champions League football by a whisker, as Aston Villa needed two points to finish ahead of them.

The club might have fallen short in the past three seasons including the current one, which is already out of sight, but, Bigirimana is confident of Premier League success in the 2025-2026 season.

He believes this will only come to pass if his former club builds on the inspiration scooped from the Carabao Cup win and takes maximum advantage of their financial status.

The former Coventry midfielder also challenged the club to borrow more inspiration from Leicester City's football miracle performed in the 2015-2016 season.

Against all the odds, Leicester shocked the world of football with the coveted EPL title, a crown considered a reserve of the competition's moneybags and giants.

"It is a big ask for them to challenge for the EPL, but my mindset is, there are 20 teams in the league. It doesn't matter, as every team plays amount of matches. Of course, clubs have different players, but everyone is in it to compete. If Leicester did it, why not Newcastle? They have a strong squad, and enough investment so, why not? The club has the money and every other ingredient required for success," Bigirimana told SportsBoom.com.

PUT RESPECT ON HOWE'S NAME

The man supposed to deliver, next season, is none other than Howe, yet he remains underrated, and is not widely considered one of the elites.

Newcastle were highly expected to settle on a tactician with a rich history of winning titles following Steve Bruce's exit shortly after the Saudi takeover in 2021.

Instead, the club hired the then 43-year-old Howe, despite being out of coaching, at the competitive level, for a year before the Newcastle call came in.

Howe quickly turned the club's fortunes around, turning them from relegation candidates to fierce competitors across all competitions.

However, winning a title remained elusive, even with the strong financial backing from the Saudi consortium and other sources, attracting pressure on the former Bournemouth gaffer.

Prior to the Carabao Cup final, reports suggested that Newcastle bosses had informed him that he would be relieved of his duties, regardless of whether he won or not.

Bigirimana feels that the former Burnley coach was unfairly targeted with unwarranted criticism and remains one of the underrated elite coaches in England.

"He is an underrated manager to be honest. Players, who have worked with him speak highly of him in his management skills. Hopefully, he will go on and win more titles with Newcastle. He is an elite coach because of where he is and what he has done in his career. He did well and Bournemouth and is currently thriving at Newcastle."

SHOULD NEWCASTLE CASH ISAK?

While the Newcastle fraternity remains hopeful of landing the league table, their biggest fear, as the summer transfer window approaches, is the possibility of watching their reliable goal scorer Alexander Isak, leave for a rival team.

Since joining the club in August 2022 at a record transfer fee of €63m from Real Sociedad, the Swede has been a monster in front of the goal, netting 50 goals for the club across all competitions. 

Liverpool and Arsenal are said to be leading in the pursuit of the 25-year-old striker, who has three years remaining in his contract with Newcastle.

As moneyed clubs keep close tabs on the former Borussia Dortmund man, Bigirimana sees no clear reason for Newcastle to cash in on him.

The former England U20 team midfielder termed Isak a strong pillar that Newcastle should build on to clinch titles and fully reclaim the past glory.

"If they are building to be one of the best teams and winning titles, you have to keep the players you regard as top and key. You also build a project on such kinds of players. Newcastle have the money to challenge other clubs, as far as paying huge salaries is concerned. It is also up to Isak as well. He has to be happy where he is, and believes in the project. The two parties have to reach an agreement," he said.

SUMMER PLANS

Besides advising against the sale of Isak, Bigirimana called for the beefing up of the team in the 2025 summer transfer window.

The 31-year-old warned that the club risked stagnation if they over-relied on the current group of players to pursue next season's objectives.

Bigirimana called for the addition of another prolific goal poacher to supplement Isak and Callum Wilson, who have been the club's main sources of goals.

"Football is won by scoring goals. They can't rely on one or two players to take them to the next level. They have to have other weapons for support and Eddie knows this too well," added the midfielder, who featured in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals with Burundi.