Yoshinori Muto made his first appearance for Newcastle United since January on Saturday.
Yoshinori Muto has admitted to The Shields Gazette that he has been ‘very frustrated’ at Newcastle United in recent months.
The Japan international made his first appearance for Newcastle since January on Saturday during the 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, having an eight-minute cameo.
Muto, a £9.5 million summer signing [The Mirror], has completely fallen out of contention after returning from the Asia Cup earlier in the calendar year.
Newcastle’s club-record signing of Miguel Almiron hasn’t helped his case for increased playing time.
But although Muto admitted that he was irked by Rafael Benitez’s exile of him, Muto insists that he was ‘very happy’ to be back in contention last weekend.
“I’m very happy. Finally, I could play on the pitch. After the Asian Cup, I didn’t play in the games. I was very frustrated, but I have worked very hard in training,” he told The Shields Gazette.
“But I didn’t score, so next game I want to score for the team. We have to keep working and we have to focus on the next game.”
Muto wasn’t signed for huge money in the context of English football, but nearly £10 million is a substantial amount for Newcastle.
He was their most expensive addition of last summer, which puts things into perspective, but he hasn’t really delivered.
The former Mainz attacker has netted only once in 14 appearances for the Magpies across all competitions, and hasn’t set up any.
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