Joelinton has been speaking to The Telegraph about his time at Newcastle, and he made an interesting claim about the dark days under Steve Bruce.
What’s the story?
Well, the £86,538-a-week man endured a miserable time at Newcastle under Bruce, who signed him from Hoffenheim for £40m.
Joelinton scored just ten goals in 89 games under the 61-year-old, who relentlessly played him as a striker despite the Brazilian’s obvious struggles in that area.
Now, the 25-year-old has revealed that he considered leaving Newcastle during that period.
Joelinton told The Telegraph: “I thought about leaving a few times. When you find yourself in a bad moment, you think about that, but I have never had anything concrete.
“What I had, yes, was this idea of perhaps moving to another team, looking for success elsewhere. It’s something normal when you are not doing so well on the pitch because that obviously has an impact on you outside the club, too, you end up getting a bit sad. But I’m happy I didn’t go anywhere and now I hope to continue here for many years to come.”
We don’t blame him.
The Magpies were going nowhere under Bruce and Mike Ashley, and any player with a shred of ambition would not have been happy on Tyneside.
Now, it’s a different story.
Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi are holding the reins, and as seen in January, they’re not afraid to spend money at St James’ Park.
Joelinton epitomises Newcastle resilience
In our view, Joelinton is a symbol for the Newcastle fans who also suffered during the days of Ashley and Bruce.
It would’ve been easy for supporters to completely abandon the club during those times, as there was simply nothing to shout about.
However – like Joelinton – they stuck around, and are now reaping the rewards of their loyalty to the Magpies.
Eddie Howe has overseen a phenomenal nine-game unbeaten run, which includes six wins, and things haven’t been this positive on Tyneside in the best part of a decade.
He may have been disillusioned at Newcastle, but the future certainly looks bright for Joelinton nowadays.
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