Newcastle United striker Adam Armstrong is currently on loan at Barnsley.
Barnsley manager Paul Heckingbottom
Barnsley boss Paul Heckingbottom has told the Yorkshire Post that there is nobody at the club who works harder than Newcastle loanee Adam Armstrong.
After hitting 20 goals in 40 games for Coventry City last season, Newcastle wanted to loan Armstrong out to a Championship club to continue his development – and they chose Barnsley.
Armstrong, 20, started his loan spell in style with three goals in eight appearances for Barnsley, but he is currently enduring a difficult spell at Oakwell.
The England Under-20 international has scored just twice in his last 18 appearances for Barnsley, a run stretching back to October.
Newcastle fans may be concerned about Armstrong’s form, given that he has been tipped to become a first-team player at St. James’ Park, having come up through the ranks with the Magpies.
Armstrong grew up supporting Newcastle and joined the club at the age of nine, making his way up through the ranks before making his first-team debut back in 2014.
Newcastle United’s Adam Armstrong in action
Whilst Rafael Benitez clearly didn’t feel that Armstrong was ready to play a part in Newcastle’s push for promotion, he is still tipped to make an impact with the Magpies in the future – and despite his poor form, he has been praised by Barnsley boss Paul Heckingbottom.
Heckingbottom has told the Yorkshire Post that nobody works harder than Armstrong, and whilst he’s out of form, he is learning how to score different goals in training, and Heckingbottom believes the striker’s fortunes can change at any point.
“Nobody works harder,” said Heckingbottom. “We are doing lots of things with him, watching videos to try and open his eyes to different types of goals he needs to score. We have jumped up a league, he has jumped up a league, and he doesn’t just want to be an impact player.”
“He wants to score different types of goals, and is definitely a player people will try and target and try to stop. You then have to adapt, score different types of goals. He is in one of those runs where it’s just not quite going his way. That can change at any point,” he added.
Do you think Armstrong will become a star at Newcastle?
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