It's perhaps a testament to Newcastle United's meteoric rise under the management of Eddie Howe that there is disgruntlement after a slow start to the season, with an incisive 5-1 win over Aston Villa followed by a trio of defeats.

Last season, the Magpies blitzed into form and ascended to heights unseen for decades, clinching Champions League qualification with a top-four finish and wiping away the struggles that had plagued the club for so many years before the PIF takeover in 2021.

While the results haven't favoured the Tyneside club in the early phase of the 2023/24 term, Howe will maintain every confidence that his side can forge a successful path for themselves once again.

How have Newcastle performed this season?

Last season, Newcastle were built on fluidity, cohesion and resilience, which very much formed the foundation of a tremendous year – United completed the Premier League campaign with the joint-best defence (alongside champions Manchester City).

And while the opening dismantlement of Unai Emery's Villa tantalised a continuation of the resounding success, away defeats to Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion and a home loss to Liverpool have left the side bogged down in the bottom half of the table.

Falling to Liverpool was particularly bitter, having taken the lead through Anthony Gordon's strike – who capitalised on Trent Alexander-Arnold's mistake – shortly before Virgil van Dijk took Alexander Isak out as he pushed through on goal; Darwin Nunez's late off-the-bench brace quickly turned delight to despair.

It might now be time for Howe to tinker away after making minimal changes across the opening phase of the season…

How good is Sean Longstaff?

Sandro Tonali kicked off the summer spending when completing a £55m move to St. James' Park in July, but so far it does not look like the Italy international and Bruno Guimaraes are working well together in the centre of the park.

Because of this, it might be wise to place Sean Longstaff back into the starting line-up, with the 25-year-old midfielder playing 41 times last year, scoring three goals and providing four assists.

Rated at £18m by Football Transfers, the £50k-per-week ace impressed with his bouncing presence and worked well as a counterweight to Guimaraes' technical, orchestrating presence beside him.

Guimaraes is not quite the specialist six that Newcastle might crave to hold the midfield together, but that does not mean that he is not a "world-class" option – as he has been called by teammate Dan Burn – who will serve as the fulcrum of much of the club's success over the coming years.

He has performed admirably since his £40m transfer to St. James' Park from French side Lyon in January 2022, so much so that the likes of Liverpool and Barcelona have come sniffing, and has been duly rewarded with a looming new lucrative contract.

Part of the reason his role in the deep-lying position worked so well last term was due to Longstaff's energy and industriousness, hailed for his "vital role" as United's "unsung hero" by pundit Jamie Rednapp, who provided an analysis after the Brighton defeat and highlighted the upswing in results when Longstaff receives a starting berth.

This is evidenced through his metrics, with FBref ranking the homegrown talent among the top 9% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for touches in the attacking penalty area and the top 12% for progressive passes received per 90 – perhaps why he has been dubbed an "absolute machine" by some in the media.

In time, perhaps the midfield axis of Guimaraes and Tonali will gel and form the heart of a truly terrifying partnership, but right now, with the emphasis surely on returning to winning ways, it might be prudent to return to the tried-and-tested formula.

Despite paying the big bucks to secure the services of Tonali, who is undoubtedly a first-rate playmaker, the balance of this Newcastle team has been knocked, and with a tough test awaiting against Brentford, reinstating Longstaff to the starting fold might be the apt solution to get the club back on the rise.