Former Stoke City team-mate Steve Sidwell rates Joselu very highly – but he has just one goal in five games so far at Newcastle United.
Steve Sidwell is well placed to judge Joselu’s chances of succeeding at Newcastle United, having worked with the Spanish striker with Stoke City during the 2014/15 season.
However, it’s fair to say the former Real Madrid youngster certainly made a positive impression on his one-time Potters team-mate.
“I’ve got to say, he was probably one of the best finishers at Stoke. Honestly, frightening,” current Brighton midfielder Sidwell said in quotes reported by The Chronicle.
“If you called up any of the lads from Stoke now, they’d honestly say he was unreal. Left foot, right foot, any kinds of finish in the air.
“What’s encouraging is, having gone to Newcastle, he is getting in the positions to do it and it’s only a matter of time. If it does click, he will go into double figures.”
‘Unreal’? Really?
Yet, it appears that Joselu’s seemingly remarkable performances on the training pitch are yet to translate onto Premier League matchdays. Though certainly underused by Mark Hughes during his time at Stoke, Joselu’s record of four goals from 22 league appearances still let a lot to be desired before he was farmed out on loan to Deportivo La Coruna.
And, in five appearances for Newcastle since signing for £5 million this summer (BBC), Joselu has scored just once – and he couldn’t really miss that simplest of tap ins against West Ham.
The former Hannover striker should have doubled, or even tripled, his so-far meagre tally as Newcastle lost 1-0 at Brighton on Sunday but missed a hatful of presentable opportunities at The Amex.
Joselu certainly has plenty of qualities. His hold-up play is impressive and, to the delight of Newcastle supporters, he is a prodigiously hard worker.
However, they will want to see a little more of his ‘unreal’ finishing in the coming weeks.
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