Newcastle should regret selling playmaker Siem de Jong

Follow us on Google Discover

Newcastle United have struggled in the final third this season since their promotion to the Premier League.

Newcastle United’s lack of goals will be something Rafa Benitez must address in the January transfer window, as summer signing Joselu struggles to supply the Toon with the firepower required in the final third.

Just 10 Premier League goals in 11 outings sees the Toon sit only five points above the relegation zone in England’s top tier, with Benitez crying out for a marksman to help secure their safety against the country’s best.

A significant reshuffle in the summer saw Newcastle offload 16 players on either permanent deals or loans, including dead wood such as Emmanuel Riviere, Achraf Lazaar and Matz Sels, but should they regret the sale of one of those 16?

Playmaker Siem de Jong returned to his home country on a permanent basis in late August, joining Dutch giants Ajax with the Evening Chronicle claiming the Toon could receive up to £4million for the 28-year-old.

But Benitez should be ruing that decision, as he opted to throw him on the Newcastle scrapheap rather than giving the injury-prone ace a second chance on Tyneside.

The signs of a re-emergence in terms of form were there. On loan at PSV Eindhoven last season, the six-time Netherlands international scored seven goals in 25 league and cup outings.

But it is de Jong’s form this season that will really rub salt in Benitez’s wounds. Making eight appearances, de Jong has scored six goals after rejoining Ajax.

His ability to unlock a defence with a flash of his right foot has also been recovered, adding three assists this season and it is that kind of goalscoring prowess in the final third that Benitez’s Newcastle dearly miss.

Newcastle will have to spend a lot more than £4million to bring a player in that can prove capable of mirroring de Jong’s impressive form this season, and that should see Benitez feel regret at selling de Jong.

There is no question that a rejuvenated de Jong would be crucial to Newcastle’s survival hopes, and it appears that the attacker has put his injury demons behind him to find his best form once again – to the Toon’s dismay.