In a column for The Athletic, Newcastle's team reporter Chris Waugh answered some questions related to the club.
What exactly is going on with Wissa?
Chris Waugh: In many ways, Wissa is the most disruptive signing of all the new arrivals last summer. Expectations for him may have been unrealistic to begin with, after all, he was effectively brought in to replace Isak, but even considering that, he has been extremely disappointing, only scoring 3 goals so far.
It was clearly a major blow to Wissa to suffer a knee injury before he even had a single training session with his new teammates. And the 29-year-old has not really recovered to full fitness since then.
In addition, his decision to skip a full pre-season preparation to force his move from Brentford to Newcastle, just like Isak did to facilitate his move to Liverpool, clearly had a lasting impact.
Wissa has been in a "chasing state" since his return from injury in December, and has never come close to the level of physical output required to be effective in Howe's system. In terms of pressing in the forward line and stretching the opposition's defense, the player is simply not capable of doing what Gordon or even Osula can do now.
Howe was quite direct in his recent comments about Wissa's lack of playing time – the forward has only started once in Newcastle's last 15 games – and hinted that he needs to show more in training and play better when he gets on the pitch. This is a fairly harsh assessment and shows that Wissa has not really implemented what Howe requires.
If Newcastle sell him this summer, they will have to take a significant loss on Wissa. But I am increasingly inclined to think that it may be preferable to make such a decision rather than continuing to insist on using someone who does not seem to have Howe's trust.
Has Howe undermined himself by overperforming in the past few seasons? There are already many commentators here who are clearly on the "sack Howe" side. Do we have any news about whether Howe himself still wants to stay?
Chris Waugh: There is almost certainly some truth to this, but the problem is that the context and expectations change. Howe has indeed "over-achieved" in the past few seasons with the budget and playing staff he has – reaching the Champions League twice and winning the League Cup.
And with that comes a change in expectations. For Newcastle fans, the word "expectation" has often been seen as a negative word in the past, but it is not necessarily negative in itself. Perspectives change, and relative achievements change.
Newcastle fans have become increasingly accustomed to seeing their team play well and win most of the time. A sustained decline in performance over a long season amplifies any negative sentiment, especially when overall match performance has also generally declined.
As for how Howe himself feels about his position, at least some people close to the manager were briefly concerned that he might start to wonder how much longer he could stay here after the defeat to Brentford. Howe was very down after that defeat last month, and seemed to be wondering if he had reached a point where he was no longer needed.
However, at least for now, there was no similar feeling after the loss to Sunderland. Howe appeared very frustrated at the post-match press conference and took responsibility, and although he could not explain why Newcastle collapsed in the second half, he had already set his sights on the remaining 7 games.
Of course, the management's view of Howe is just one factor, as you say. When it comes to the summer, there is indeed the possibility that Howe himself will decide to leave. He has said before that he would not stay if he was no longer needed. Perhaps if the attitude of the majority of fans really turns negative in the coming months, he may choose to leave voluntarily. But for now, in the immediate aftermath of the derby, the most immediate expectation remains that Howe will stay at least until the summer, and probably longer.
There are two factors that could really change that: more bad results, and a clear and sustained wave of discontent among the fan base.
As for whether Howe's position is already under threat within the club – and Howe himself would say that he is always under pressure – the current information is that the manager's position is not facing any immediate danger for the time being.
Since Hopkinson and Wilson took over, the message coming from within the club has always been that Howe remains the manager in their medium-to-long-term plans.
But that does not mean he is completely immune from scrutiny. The club is frustrated with Newcastle's current situation and understands that finishing in the bottom half of the table would be far below expectations.
If results continue to not improve, Howe cannot expect to continue to receive high-level support. So from that perspective, the last 7 games of the season are very important for him – it is his chance to prove that he can still turn things around.
Is there any way to get the issues really put in front of the Saudi owners?
Chris Waugh: Yes, but that doesn't mean they will listen, or be willing to listen. Last summer, there were indeed approaches from people close to PIF who said that the majority shareholders wanted to communicate more with the outside world and would articulate their ambitions more clearly.
But almost a year has passed and these words have not been put into action. Communication remains scant, almost non-existent, and the outside world remains unanswered.
PIF may say that Hopkinson and Wilson are their local representatives and should be the ones to address these issues head-on. To some extent, this is understandable.
But an increasing number of fans are doubting whether PIF still really cares about the club as much as they used to, and major projects like the training ground and stadium should at least be addressed personally by someone who truly represents the owners, which is the least that fans deserve.
Are there any reasons to be optimistic heading into the summer?
Chris Waugh: Not to be optimistic for the sake of optimism, but at least in theory, Newcastle are in a much better position to enter the transfer window this summer than they were the previous two summers.
There are currently no immediate, serious PSR/SCR issues to deal with, and the club has an active CEO and a sporting director, both of whom have a good relationship with Howe. The previous sporting director Paul Mitchell had a fairly strained relationship with Howe, while former chief executive Darren Eales was undergoing cancer treatment.
Current CEO David Hopkinson and sporting director Ross Wilson have both repeatedly stated that they have ambitious plans in place, and this summer will be the first early test of this new blueprint.
However, we will still have to wait and see how well it is executed. With the senior positions back in place, transfer sagas that disrupt the situation, such as the one with Isak, should theoretically not happen again. But Newcastle still have some core players in the squad who are coveted by other clubs. At the same time, when competing head-to-head with really top clubs for targets, we cannot match the salaries they offer.
So it's not going to be an easy summer. Newcastle need to do a lot of work on both the incoming and outgoing sides to truly achieve a renewal and rebuilding of the squad. Therefore, it is unrealistic to expect a completely smooth off-season.
But there are genuine reasons to believe that this summer will be much more constructive than the previous two, and is less likely to cause as much disruption as it did before.
What do we know about Guimaraes' situation? Is a renewal possible?
Chris Waugh: I guess you are responding to those reports that "Guimaraes has entered into in-depth negotiations with Manchester United," which has confused many people inside Newcastle.
The club is certainly aware that there may be interest in their captain, but at least at the club-to-club level, this formal negotiation has not taken place.
As for whether his agent, or some intermediaries claiming to represent him, have conducted relevant negotiations, that is another matter.
Guimaraes is currently in the final two years of the contract he signed in 2023, and the club has indeed had some contact with him about a potential renewal. As for whether this "Manchester United rumor leak" is putting pressure on the renewal negotiations, there can certainly be different interpretations, but its timing does not seem coincidental.
The 28-year-old Guimaraes is well aware that whether his next big contract is signed with Newcastle or elsewhere, it is likely to be the last truly "big contract" of his career.
The message coming from inside Newcastle is that they want to continue to build the team around their captain and are willing to accept a renewal. But at the same time, it must also be assessed whether Guimaraes can continue to maintain his current level in the long term (which he should be able to, as he is currently in the middle of the prime of his career).
There will definitely be personnel changes in the midfield position this summer, with Willock likely to leave, but Newcastle are unlikely to let go of both Guimaraes and Tonali in the same window.
So my expectation is that at least one of the two will stay next season, and possibly both.