'I do believe we'll get there': Shola Ameobi backs former team Newcastle to make it to the top

Former Newcastle star Shola Ameobi is confident that the Magpies will continue to get stronger and stronger after last season's fourth-placed finish.

Newcastle have improved faster than anyone expected under their new ownership and have qualified for the Champions League.

And Ameobi believes their progress will not be slowing down any time soon.

'It's gonna be a tall order,' he told Sky Sports. 'You've got the likes of Man City, all the top teams around Europe, PSG, you know.

'This is the vision, this is what's getting everyone excited. As a fan you wanna hear our owner, our chairman saying that they wanna make this club what we all want it to be.

'That's what's exciting. Going about it the right way in a sustainable manner.

'You've got good team now with a Darren Eales and Dan Ashford from a football operations point of view making sure that we're doing it the right way.

'It's hugely exciting and i do believe that we'll get there. These guys aren't buying our club for the sake of it. They want to make it successful and that's what's exciting.'

Sandro Tonali is closing in on a £52m switch to Newcastle, with the final details being ironed out over a deal for the AC Milan star.

It comes as Eddie Howe's side have been eyeing up a move for the promising young star for some time, with Tonali featuring in Italy's controversial 2-1 Euro U21 defeat to France on Thursday.

The move has gathered significant momentum in the last few days after the Magpies' sporting director Dan Ashworth was spotted in Milan and appears to have made progress with bringing the 23-year-old to the Premier League.