Newcastle United's owners were spotted in the stands as their side lost in the Carabao Cup final which has encouraged journalist Craig Hope.

What went wrong for Newcastle at Wembley?

It will have been a bitterly disappointing evening for the Magpies who saw their opportunity to end their trophy drought slip through their fingers as Manchester United lifted the cup.

It was a fairly toothless display from Newcastle's attackers with United showing their clinical side with a six-minute double to seal the win.

Throughout the game at Wembley, the Toon were only able to test David De Gea on two occasions despite claiming the majority of possession (via SofaScore).

And speaking on his YouTube channel, journalist Hope has suggested the club still need to spend significantly which is why he was glad the PIF representatives were there at Wembley to witness their struggles:

(5:20) "But ultimately, it's probably going to come back to the quality of your players. And I think we've just seen since the turn of the year, a lot of Newcastle's men revert to type probably the level they're at."

"I think to that end, it was probably useful the Saudi owners were there today. You look at it and think for them to take the next level, the next step they've got the manager in place and they've got 2/3/4 [top] players perhaps, but it's going to take some significant investment to take them to that that next step to get back here [Wembley] next year and the year after."

Who do Newcastle need to sign in the summer?

There has been long-standing interest, suggested by reports, in the Leicester City midfielder James Maddison which is expected to be reignited in the summer.

And a player of Maddison's calibre could certainly provide Eddie Howe with a potential goal threat from the midfield having already scored nine and provided five assists in the league this season.

However, there have also been reports suggesting the midfielder has his eyes on playing Champions League football which could prove an issue for the Magpies.

Their grip on the top four has slipped since the turn of the year with just one win in their last seven league games seeing Tottenham Hotspur leapfrog them over recent weeks.

The Magpies still hold two games in hand over Spurs so are in control over their season but it is apparent their form must improve.

And it is believed Spurs are another club showing an interest in Maddison which could certainly prove interesting with the two sides battling it out for Champions League football.

Whether or not Newcastle chase Maddison in the summer, it is apparent they need a more consistent output up top with their lack of goals seriously harming their record in recent weeks.

The Toon have the league's best defence this season, but three goals in their last seven league games is simply not good enough for a side that want to play Champions League football next season.

Perhaps the fact the likes of Amanda Staveley were there to see their attacking struggles on Sunday may prove significant ahead of the summer as they look for areas to improve.