Newcastle United must follow Brighton's path to Premier League success after a summer of change left the first team depleted, according to former England, Leeds United and Manchester City defender Danny Mills.
Mills believes it will take a long time for the Magpies to rebuild after losing several high-profile players. He pointed to Brighton as the model to emulate, with the Seagulls performing strongly in Fabian Hurzeler's second season in charge with a squad of lesser-known names.
Summer of change at St James' Park
New head coach Matthias Jaissle arrived late in the summer to replace Eddie Howe, inheriting a squad that had seen Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes depart in the previous months. Experienced defender Kieran Trippier also left when his contract expired at the end of last season, following the loss of Alexander Isak 12 months earlier.
Newcastle added eight new faces in the transfer window, but only Lukas Hornicek, Nico Gonzalez and Amar Dedic have seen significant game time. Sean Steur has impressed, though Jaissle is being careful with the 18-year-old, who is still learning at this stage of his career.
New signings yet to settle
Aladji Bamba and Bazoumana Toure have barely been used despite significant fees paid to bring them to Tyneside, while Matias Fernandez-Pardo has struggled to break into the side after arriving late in the window and suffering an illness that kept him out for three games.
Mills said losing such talented players was always going to require a period of readjustment, and urged Newcastle to use Brighton as inspiration for their long-term recovery.
Mills: Rebuilding takes time
Speaking to BOYLE Sports, Mills said: "It's very, very difficult to replace them. You've ripped the heart out of your midfield. You've lost Isak. You then lost a midfielder in Tonali. You've lost a very influential winger in Gordon. You lost your captain in Bruno Guimaraes. It's like, whoa, hang on a minute, how many players can you lose?"
He added: "Even the likes of Kieran Trippier, who are good players, good pros, influential. It's difficult to replace all of those players and get it right immediately. You have to go down to the Brighton model and it takes time to really build. You've ripped the heart out of that team. You can't expect instant results overnight. That's simply not going to happen."
Newcastle return to action against Arsenal at St James' Park on November 21 following the international break, followed by a trip to face Brighton on November 29.
