Back in November, Newcastle welcomed Norwich to St James’ Park, in what was a crucial game for both sides as they aim to stay in the Premier League.
Just nine minutes in, Ciaran Clark was involved in a brainless moment as he first kicked his clearance straight at Teemu Pukki, before hauling the Finland international down as he was through on goal.
The £5m Rafa Benitez signing was sent off, and Newcastle’s task became so much harder – in the end, the Magpies escaped with a 1-1 draw.
However, that moment of madness from Clark may actually have saved the career of one Newcastle teammate – Joelinton.
What’s the story?
Well, after struggling as a centre-forward, the Brazilian has been a revelation under Eddie Howe in a central midfield role.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference yesterday, Howe revealed that he only realised how good Joelinton was in that role after he was forced to drop deep, to cover the absence of Clark against Norwich.
The £40m man has been physically dominant and composed in possession for the Magpies – it’s testament to Howe’s coaching skills that he saw a glimpse of something against Norwich, and decided to change Joelinton’s position entirely.
Joelinton has now settled at Newcastle
From our point of view, we’re delighted to see Joelinton thriving in the Premier League, after two seasons of humiliation under Steve Bruce.
The ex-Sunderland boss continued to persist with the South American up top, despite the fact he was obviously struggling.
In total, Joelinton only has 11 goals in 104 appearances for Newcastle, so it’s obvious that a centre-forward role wasn’t the best fit.
Now, with a fellow Brazilian in Bruno Guimarães by his side, Joelinton now appears to be in the right environment to thrive – after two years of mockery, he deserves to enjoy every second.
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