Seven players with Newcastle connections in action tonight as Euro 2024 gets underway in Germany

Football is back again as the 2024 European Championships get underway tonight as Scotland face off against host nation Germany in an 8pm kick-off.

While international football is a poor substitute for watching our beloved Newcastle United, there are still plenty of reasons for interested Mags to tune in.

Take tonight's game for example, there are no fewer than seven players with links to Newcastle in the two squads, as well as a former Newcastle coach in Scotland's Steve Clarke and a one-time linked to Newcastle coach in Germany's Julian Nagelsmann.

Whether any or all of the connected players make it onto the pitch tonight remains to be seen, but let's run them down.

Getty Images

There are plenty of reasons for Newcastle fans to watch tonight's opener

Let's kick things off with an actual former Newcastle player. 32-year-old Centre-back Grant Hanley who came on board during Newcastle's 2016 season in the Championship. He was a no-nonsense player, but Championship was probably his level. He left the Toon a year later to join Norwich City where he has remained.

The rest of the players we'll mention have at some point been linked with a move to Newcastle in the media, all with varying degrees of believability.

Starting with the Scotland boys and kicking off with Scott McTominay. The Manchester United midfielder was constantly being linked with a move to the Toon last year which thankfully never materialised and has thankfully died downsince.

Kieran Tierney is out to prove he can still play after another injury-hit season while on loan at Real Sociedad. The Arsenal man has seen his value slashed by the club as they look to move on the man who Newcastle coveted for much of last summer before signing Lewis Hall.

Germany have three players that have been linked with Newcastle recently

Billy Gilmour rounds off the Scotland list. The former Chelsea midfielder is currently plying his trade at Brighton and Newcastle were credited with an interest as recently as April, but have yet to revisit the idea.

Germany also has a few squad members who Newcastle have been taking a look at recently, kicking off with former Leeds United defender Robin Koch. The Magpies looked to take him away from Elland Road after they were relegated in 2023 but he ended up moving to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Newcastle have also been linked with midfielder Joshua Kimmich who looks set to leave Bayern Munich this summer after nine years at the club with Manchester City and Barcelona waiting to pounce also.

Finally, there's Florian Wirtz of Bayer Leverkusen. The 21-year-old is one of the hottest prospects at Euro 2024 with Newcastle looking at him last summer, but this year it seems to be about whether he will join Real Madrid with Liverpool also in the running.