Newcastle’s Joelinton can thrive in Bruce’s new system

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The Brazilian hasn’t been able to do justice to his price tag but his criticism is unfair.

When Newcastle United forked out £40 million (BBC) on Joelinton, it was a strange move for so many different reasons. The Magpies were looking at someone to replace Salomon Rondon, who scored 11 goals and provided seven assists in the league last season.

Joelinton was never going to score that many goals in the league, especially in Newcastle’s favoured system. Steve Bruce has done well with his five at the back formation, where the defenders and the midfielders stay deep creating a huge gap between themselves and their striker.

The Magpies boss has changed the formation in their last three games but Joelinton’s biggest struggles have been when they have played with five at the back.

Rondon was one of the best at keeping hold of the ball until his teammates rushed up the pitch for support but Joelinton isn’t quite capable of that just yet. 

When the 23-year-old manages to retain possession from a long goal kick when Newcastle play in a  5-3-2 or 5-4-1 formation, it is often too late before he can link up with his fellow attackers. 

This system that Newcastle have used for the majority of this season is completely different from what he was used to at Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga. 

Julian Nagelsmann would make his attackers press high up to win back possession and, once they did, Joelinton had players around him to combine with. 

Sadly for him at Newcastle, he remained isolated for most parts of the game but Steve Bruce has recently reverted to a back four which could see a huge change in fortunes for the Brazilian.

If Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron stay close to him when he receives the ball, Joelinton’s combination play will make everyone around him better and the Magpies will have more options in the final third.

Newcastle are almost safe in the Premier League now and Bruce has some cushion to experiment. If he can get the best out of Joelinton, in a system that suits him, he will be hugely productive for the club next season.