Did Newcastle United really get a bargain in Christian Atsu?
Plenty of Newcastle United players have incurred the wrath of the St James’s Park faithful this season.
The likes of Rob Elliot, Karl Darlow, Mo Diame, Matt Ritchie, Joselu and Dwight Gayle have all found themselves on the receiving end of some social media criticism from the Magpies fans.
But one man who looks to have escaped at least some vitriol this season is Christian Atsu, but are Newcastle supporters giving him an easy ride?
Newcastle spent £6.2 million on signing the Ghana winger last summer in what was considered a bargain by much of the fanbase, having impressed under Rafael Benitez in the Championship last season.
But fast forward nine months and the former Chelsea man has only managed two goals and two assists in 25 Premier League games which, for an attacking player, is a pretty disappointing return.
It might be a different story if Atsu was constantly creating chances that Joselu and Gayle were missing, but the 26-year-old has only fashioned five goalscoring opportunities in 1,720 minutes of top-flight football this season. For context, that is four less than Ritchie, whose productivity is also nowhere near good enough.
United didn’t spend a huge amount on Atsu in the context of the transfer market last summer, but that £6 million did and still does represent quite a bit of money for the penny-pinching Magpies and it’s about time that questions are asked about a man whose stats don’t really suggest that Benitez pulled off a coup.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
