‘Impressive’: Alan Shearer once called 22-year-old ‘a finisher’, and now Newcastle want him

Follow us on Google Discover

According to The Telegraph, Newcastle United are interested in signing Eddie Nketiah from Arsenal, and that’s a rather interesting rumour.

Nketiah is certainly an attainable target. He’s hardly getting a game at Arsenal, and his contract is up in six months’ time, meaning he could be available for a cut-price fee.

So, what type of player would the Magpies be getting if they landed Nketiah? Well, Alan Shearer has previously analysed the forward in depth.

Indeed, Shearer interviewed Nketiah for his column on The Athletic, and he had plenty of good things to say about the Arsenal man.

What does Shearer think of Nketiah?

Shearer had plenty of good things to say about the striker when writing his column for The Athletic.

“When I watch Eddie’s goals for the under-21s, I see a finisher (and I love the joy it brings him). I see someone who can score with his left and his right, who gets a lot of his goals from around the six-yard box. He’s not toweringly tall (about 5ft 9in) or muscular, so perhaps the role he is being asked to play is not a natural one, but it is certainly not an impossible task. The key point is that the good players, the best players, find a way to do it,” Shearer wrote.

The Newcastle legend also had great things to say about the youngster’s willingness to learn when he was signing off his article.

“Eddie seems so eager to listen and learn and work and soak up information. He is an impressive young man. To come back to the start, he has reached a pivotal moment, but I truly hope he scores a bucketload of goals for club and country this season. So far, so good and a big well done on breaking my record. And now? Time to get cracking.”

Potential

Nketiah is far from the finished product, but if you impress Alan Shearer with your finishing ability, then you have to have something about you.

Newcastle need goals if they’re going to stay up, and Nketiah could provide that at St James’ Park.

Of course, a poacher is only ever as good as the chances that are created, but if the Tyneside club can add a playmaker or two to their side this month, Nketiah could score bags of goals in the black and white of Newcastle.