Newcastle United did a thoroughly professional job against Bradford City, but it was not a perfect night for every Toon player.
There were plenty of strong performances in black and white. Will Osula impressed fans with his brace, while Bruno Guimaraes ran the show with relative ease.
Lewis Miley answered his critics with a very strong showing, and it was great to see another glimpse of what Nick Woltemade is going to bring to this Newcastle United team off the bench.
Eddie Howe used the game to give fringe players like Emil Krafth an opportunity, but there was one Toon player who was conspicuous by his absence on Wednesday night.
Joe Willock fails to get off the bench during Newcastle United’s win over Bradford City
Howe made seven changes to his starting XI against Bradford, one of which saw Joe Willock drop to the bench.
That came as a surprise, as it felt like a good opportunity for the £25million midfielder to get more minutes into his legs and regain some form.
What was even more surprising was that Willock did not even feature as a substitute on Wednesday night. Howe made five changes during the game, but none of them resulted in the 26-year-old making a Carabao Cup cameo.
This comes at a time when Willock’s Newcastle future is up in the air. Jacob Ramsey’s arrival has put his minutes under threat, while there is also the issue of his Toon contract expiring in 2027.
The Carabao Cup clash felt like a good opportunity for Willock to prove his worth to the Newcastle United squad, but it was an opportunity he was not afforded by Howe.
Following the game, there was no mention of the former Arsenal player suffering from an injury to justify his lack of involvement.
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The other Newcastle United player who will be disappointed not to feature vs Bradford City
The other Newcastle United player who had been expected to feature against Bradford but did not was Jamaal Lascelles.
Lascelles made his return against Bournemouth, coming off the bench to make his first competitive appearance for the club since March 2024. It was a long road back from a serious knee injury, and it was great to see him involved at the Vitality Stadium.
However, Lascelles’ substitute appearance was not followed by a start in the Carabao Cup. He was an unused substitute, with Sven Botman and Malick Thiaw impressing at the heart of defence.
There was a centre-back change during the game, but it was Alex Murphy who Howe turned to ahead of Lascelles. The young Irishman replaced Botman, making just his third competitive appearance for Newcastle United.
Murphy did not have much to do during his late cameo, but everything he did was done well.
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