Newcastle United announced its UEFA Champions League Group Stage squad this season.

After finishing fourth in the Premier League last season, Newcastle qualified for Europe’s premier tournament by one point over Liverpool. On Tuesday, Sep. 19, Eddie Howe’s squad travels to Italy to take on AC Milan at the San Siro. Only two months after signing with Newcastle, Sandro Tonali finds himself back at the stadium of his boyhood club.

When he moved to St. James’ Park, the 23-year-old midfielder signed a five-year deal and he quickly established himself as one of the first names on the team’s roster. His first Premier League game resulted in a goal, so he’s off to a great start with the Magpies.

As if a double clash with the Italian giants weren’t enough, the ‘Group of Death’ also includes French powerhouses Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund from Germany.

Newcastle include Paul Dummett in Champions League squad

Newcastle have unveiled their 23-man ‘List A’ squad in anticipation of the commencement of UEFA Champions League group play; the roster includes a few pleasant surprises. Howe has reintroduced Paul Dummett, a long-forgotten St. James’ Park regular who has been there for 23 years.

Dummett has been a staple at the club for many years. The 31-year-old defender has been a mainstay for Newcastle, starting 205 games in all competitions and scoring four goals. However, he has only made four appearances in the two previous seasons combined.

Matt Ritchie gets cut off

Each Champions League squad must include eight homegrown players in the final list. Due to the fact that only Dummett, youngster Elliot Anderson, and midfielder Sean Longstaff meet the ‘club-trained’ criterion, the Magpies have been forced to trim the size of their squad.

Winger Matt Ritchie is the biggest omission. The 33-year-old, who played seven games in the Premier League for Newcastle last season and ten games overall, has worked with Howe before at Bournemouth. In any case, he was plainly a surplus.

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