Newcastle United defender Malik Jaf told chroniclelive in an interview that despite the team experiencing the departure of several key players and squad adjustments this summer, the club should still aim to return to European competitions in the new season.
Jaf made his debut in Newcastle's preseason match against Valencia and captained the team in Matthias Jaissle's coaching debut, ultimately helping the team to a 2-1 away victory. The German defender was one of Newcastle's most-played players last season, and with the departure of important players such as Guimarães, Trippier, Tonali, and Anthony Gordon, he is also considered one of the new leading figures in the team for the new season.
Facing the changes of a younger squad, Jaf gave positive evaluations of the new signings and young players.
He said: "We are very happy with their performance in training and matches. One thing I like about these young players is that they are very confident, which is also reflected in their style of play."
"They are not afraid to step up and show themselves. Of course, they are still very young and need some time to grow, but I think many of them are ready to contribute to the team at any time."
Newcastle has signed several new players under the age of 20 this summer, and the team is undergoing a transition. Jaf believes that the team still has enough competitiveness and is confident that the philosophy brought by new coach Jaissle can help the team continue to improve.
"We are very optimistic about this season and very excited about what will happen next. We train hard and strive to improve ourselves. The coach is also very positive, he has a clear system and plan, and we look forward to making progress."
When talking about the new season's goals, Jaf said that Newcastle should not lower their expectations and still need to strive for European competition qualification.
"If we talk about goals, for me personally, of course, I hope the team can fight for European competitions like in the past three or four years. I think that is our goal."
"Of course, we also hope to do better than last season, constantly improve, make the fans happy, and let them see that we gave everything. The fans are a very important part of Newcastle, which I felt in my first year here."
Jaf also admitted that the Premier League competition is always very intense, but he believes Newcastle has the strength to achieve good results.
"The Premier League is always very difficult, everyone knows that. But other teams will also say that about us. So I am very optimistic that we have the ability to achieve good results this season."
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