Newcastle United winger Christian Atsu has enjoyed a decent couple of games.
Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce has told The Chronicle that he was impressed with how Christian Atsu ran himself to a standstill against Watford.
The Magpies drew that game 1-1 as Fabian Schar earned a point for Bruce heading into the international break, and will hope to cause Liverpool some problems this weekend.
A surprise has come in the form of winger Atsu, who played his first game of the season as a first-half substitute against Tottenham Hotspur.
The Ghanaian notched the assist for Joelinton’s winner in that game, and then turned in a strong performance against Watford too.
Atsu had been somewhat forgotten about at Newcastle, especially after the signing of Allan Saint-Maximin, but he’s proving his worth all over again.
The 27-year-old has just under two years left on his £30,000-a-week contract (Spotrac) at St James’ Park so will be fighting for a new one, and he’s certainly left an impression on Bruce.
Bruce admitted that Atsu ‘ran himself to a standstill’ against Watford, seemingly blown away by his workrate to the point where he just couldn’t contain his delight and had to mention it, adding that he’s very pleased with Atsu, and feels he has done ‘very, very well’ in the last two games.
“I’ve only really seen Christian since the back end of last week because of the stuff with the African Nations and being injured, but as soon as he’s come in, he’s handled the ball well,” said Bruce. “Whether it’s given him a new lease of life, I’m not sure, but I’ve been very, very pleased with him. He’s done very, very well. He ran himself to a standstill (against Watford) I have to tell you,” he added.
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