Speaking on his YouTube channel, Fabrice Muamba has been discussing Newcastle United’s end to last season and he reserved some special praise for Joelinton.
The Brazilian was one of the stars of the Magpies’ 2021/22 season and he finally came into his own after the arrival of Eddie Howe on Tyneside.
Indeed, the £40m man moved from being a striker to being a midfielder under Howe, and it’s fair to say that he took to his new role like a duck to water.
An energetic destroyer in the middle of the park, Joelinton is finally justifying his price tag, and Muamba has been very impressed by what he’s seen from the former Hoffenheim man.
What’s been said?
Muamba was full of praise for Joelinton.
“They brought in Chris Wood, they brought in Matt Targett and there was almost a wake-up call for Joelinton who went from playing up front to being a midfield player and he just went from strength to strength, to be fair to Newcastle, the second-half of this season they’ve been different class,” Muamba said.
Perfect manager
Joelinton’s transformation at Newcastle just goes to show how working under the right manager can completely transform a player’s fortunes.
Under Steve Bruce, with all due respect, Joelinton was genuinely one of the worst strikers in the Premier League, he couldn’t buy a goal and he was a figure of ridicule for years at St James’ park.
However, under Howe, he’s become one of the Magpies’ very best players and all of a sudden that £40m transfer fee doesn’t actually seem that steep.
Howe was the perfect manager for Joelinton and Newcastle are very lucky to have them both.
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