And whilst Newcastle United could offer Mbeumo the chance of playing Champions League football, something Manchester United cannot, the Red Devils still have that European pedigree and a wage structure that would benefit Mbeumo more than a move to Tyneside, despite their well-publicised financial issues.

Can the supposedly doomed - Sunderland, Burnley and Leeds United - avoid the inevitable fate of promoted clubs and not return immediately to more barren grazing grounds? However for all Geordies those questions pale into insignificance because only one really matters: can Newcastle United handle the considerable extra burden of playing in the Champions League as well as the Premier League,

Newcastle United have shifted focus to Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman after top target Bryan Mbeumo chose Manchester United.