Summer signing Ciaran Clark proving his worth for Newcastle United

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The former Aston Villa defender has impressed Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez since joining the club.

Newcastle United’s shock summer signing Ciaran Clark has emerged as one of manager Rafael Benitez’s star performers in recent weeks.

At the weekend the former Aston Villa defender turned in his most accomplished performance to date to ensure The Magpies held on for three points against Rotherham United at the New York Stadium on Saturday.

Many eyebrows were raised on Tyneside when the news broke that Newcastle, who had splashed out for Blackburn Rovers centre back Grant Hanley just weeks earlier, agreed a fee for Aston Villa’s long-serving defender Clark, who had been with The Villans for over eight years.

Clark was part of the much-maligned Villa squad that suffered relegation from the Premier League with a pitiful tally of 17 points last season.

With a staggering 76 goals shipped by The Villans porous defence during an ignominious 2015/16 campaign, the versatile 27-year-old came in for his fair share of criticism.

Average, rash, error-prone and clumsy were just a few of the disparaging terms Villa fans used to describe Clark as news broke of his imminent switch to St James’ Park; with the prevailing school of thought seeming to be that the Irishman would be no great loss to the Villa squad as they prepared to embark on a gruelling Championship season.

Newcastle fans also reacted to Clark’s arrival with an overriding sense of ambivalence after seeing very little to enthuse over during his lengthy spell at Villa Park. However, slowly but surely, the tough-tackling defender has started to silence his doubters and prove why Rafael Benitez was right to put his neck on the line and bring him to the club.

Your classic no-nonsense defender, Clark’s Magpies bow did not get off to the best of starts against Reading in August; with the Irishman giving away a first-half penalty during Newcastle’s 4-1 victory over Jaap Stam’s side. However he quickly put the error behind him and has since gone on to make seven starts for Benitez’s side in all competitions.

What the former Villa man lacks in technical ability he certainly makes up for in application, attitude and defensive nous, and it is no coincidence that Newcastle are unbeaten when Clark has played from the start this season.

Despite Chancel Mbemba forming a formidable partnership with Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles in the closing stages of last season, the precocious Congolese international has initially struggled to adapt to the physicality of The Championship and Clark, a vastly-experienced figure, offers Benitez a more reliable option at the heart of the back four

With Norwich City leading Newcastle 3-2 in the 94th minute of last Wednesday’s top of the table six-pointer, The Canaries looked like they were about to put the game to bed as Nelson Oliveira broke towards goalkeeper Karl Darlow with the goal at his mercy, however, Clark had other ideas.

The Irishman somehow caught up with the Norwich striker before putting in a breathtaking last-ditch challenge to retrieve possession – a tackle which was the catalyst for Newcastle’s sensational injury time turnaround, with Benitez’s side running out as eventual 4-3 winners in an incredible finale.

The Irishman followed up his midweek heroics by putting in a colossal defensive display in Newcastle’s scrappy 1-0 victory against basement side Rotherham United on Saturday; making a host of crucial clearances and interventions as The Millers threw the proverbial kitchen sink when pressing for an equaliser during the closing stages of the game.

Clark’s performances in recent weeks have been so impressive that Benitez has sought to publicly praised the revitalised defender for stepping up his game showing what he is truly capable of.

Speaking to The Chronicle, the Spanish manager said: “He’s a player with experience and also, because he’s left-footed, he can give us a little balance by playing balls out from the back with his left foot.

“When we brought him here, we knew that he had experience of the Premier League and so we knew we were signing a good player. He is showing that every week.”

The former Villa man now heads into the international break as one of third-placed Newcastle’s first choice centre backs and if he can continue his rich vein of form once Benitez’s side return to action later this month, the fee The Magpies shelled out to bring him to Tyneside will begin to look like a shrewd piece of business.