Matz Sels has endured a difficult period of adaptation since arriving in English football and the stats suggest he may not be the man for Benitez.
A quick glance at the Championship table only points to positive signs for Newcastle United; third place, three points off the top, the league’s top scorers with 22 goals.
However, even with 11 games of the new season gone, a question mark still hangs over one specific area of Rafa Benitez’s team sheet.
Goalkeeper Matz Sels has started nine games since arriving from Gent in the summer, though the Belgian international’s propensity for flapping and a slow adaptation to the physical nature second tier has many Newcastle fans wondering whether the decision to send Tim Krul (below) on loan to Ajax, injured or not, was the right one.
Therefore, Benitez’s decision to remove Sels from the firing line and start Karl Darlow in the last two games spoke volumes, especially when referring the former Nottingham Forest youngsters’ “calming” influence between the sticks, as reported by the Chronicle.
Damningly, the stats appear to endorse Sels’ withdrawal. According to Squawka, Darlow (below) has collected 100% of his catches since usurping his Belgian counterpart, while completing each and every one of his attempted punches.
Sels, however, is frequently bullied in the set-piece mosh pit, completing only 33% of his punches despite conceding just 0.78 goals per game.
In a league where whipped crosses and punted diagonals remain a major weapon in almost every team’s armoury, doubts persist about Sels’ suitability. The stats may not tell the whole story, but they paint a rather substantial picture.
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