According to Liam Kennedy of The Shields Gazette, Jamaal Lascelles, Allan Saint-Maximin and Isaac Hayden are ‘slightly unhappy’ under Steve Bruce at Newcastle.
The journalist was speaking on NUFC Toon Talk’s YouTube show, hosted by Steve Wraith.
Kennedy said: ‘We’ve all heard the rumours, any Newcastle fan worth their salt has heard the rumours; the Lascelles, the Haydens, Saint-Maximins [are] slightly unhappy with the way things have been going.’
It’s no surprise that the trio at unhappy at St James’ Park given the style of football Newcastle have been playing under Bruce this season.
As WhoScored shows, the Magpies have the fewest shots per game in the Premier League with just eight efforts every 90 minutes.
The Tyneside-based outfit also average the third-lowest possession with an average of 41.9% per game – only Sheffield United and Crystal Palace have less.
It’s a worry if any first-team player grows unhappy at a club, but for three key players to be unsatisfied is quite concerning, especially Saint-Maximin.
The £16.5 million man looks like Newcastle’s only hope of getting a goal or setting one up for Callum Wilson most weeks, and he will be one of the last players Magpies supporters would want to lose.
It remains to be seen why the trio are unhappy, although our guess is that the style of football is simply draining them.
It will be interesting to see if Bruce changes his tactics, or if he allows the situation to worsen.
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