DeAndre Yedlin has signed for Newcastle – how did he compare at Sunderland to the man he replaced, Daryl Janmaat?
Tottenham’s DeAndre Yedlin in action
It was a case of one in and one out for Newcastle United as they sold Dutch full-back Daryl Janmaat and swiftly replaced him with former Sunderland loanee DeAndre Yedlin.
Janmaat leaves after two years on Tyneside, during which he made 75 appearances and scored four goals, including one against Watford last season.
But the 27-year-old Dutch international clearly didn’t fancy fighting for promotion in the Championship as he opted for a Premier League move to the Hornets.
And that paved the way for Yedlin to make his move up north once again as he signed a five-year deal at United just months after completing a year-long loan with North-East rivals Sunderland in 2015/16.
The 23-year-old American featured just once in the Premier League for Spurs but was a regular starter for the Black Cats last season as they narrowly escaped relegation at Newcastle’s expense.
Now Yedlin will be tasked to fill the boots of arguably one of Newcastle’s better performers over the past couple of seasons – so how does he compare?
Newcastle’s Daryl Janmaat in action with Fulham’s Floyd Ayite
Firstly, both Janmaat and Yedlin are attacking right-backs with plenty of international experience and while Janmaat’s strengths lie in his technical and crossing ability, Yedlin is more of an explosive player, using his rapid pace to his advantage.
The price and age difference between the two suggests that Janmaat is perhaps the more well equipped player for the Premier League and the stats more or less confirm that.
| Position | Team | Season | Passing Accuracy | Won Tackle GAME | Interception Won GAME | Outfielder Block GAME | Effective Clearance GAME | Total Att Assist GAME | Crossing Accuracy | Appearances | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daryl Janmaat | DF | Newcastle | 2015-2016 | 74% | 1.94 | 1.75 | 0.25 | 1.69 | 0.78 | 19% | 32 | 2,755 |
| DeAndre Yedlin | DF | Sunderland | 2015-2016 | 68% | 1.26 | 1.09 | 0.57 | 2.96 | 0.52 | 17% | 23 | 1,812 |
But at 23, Yedlin is still improving as a player so the Magpies’ £5m investment could prove to be good value for money in the coming years whereas Janmaat is very much at his peak.
And the Dutchman had proved a valuable asset going forward for Newcastle following his arrival from Feyenoord in 2014 as since then, no Premier League defender has assisted more goals than Janmaat (10).
He also bagged three goals for United last season though there have been concerns over his defending as he regularly found himself caught out of position at the back.
Similar things could be said for Yedlin, who is arguably more suited to a wide midfield or wing-back role to the full-back position where he will most likely be deployed under manager Rafa Benitez.
Yedlin spent last term on loan at Newcastle’s bitter rivals Sunderland
At 5ft 8in, the American isn’t going to be quite as imposing as the 6ft 1in Janmaat either but Newcastle fans will be hoping his pace and stamina will somewhat compensate for that.
Ultimately, Janmaat had arguably been Newcastle’s most consistent performer for the best part of 18-months. However, his form dipped badly at the back end of last season as he was dropped in favour of fellow countryman Vurnon Anita.
The 27-year-old hadn’t really got going in the Championship either as Newcastle lost both games in which he started – so perhaps fans won’t be too sad to see the back of him.
Meanwhile they have a young, energetic full-back with Premier League experience to look forward to as they eye an immediate return to the English top flight.
Will it prove to be a good piece of business for Newcastle?
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez
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