Newcastle boss Eddie Howe hails Joelinton’s versatility

The Brazilian looked set to become one of the Premier League’s biggest flops after failing to fire in front of goal following his £40million switch.

Andy Sims
Sunday 27 February 2022 06:39 EST
Comments
Eddie Howe’s side won at Brentford on Saturday (Zac Goodwin/PA)
Eddie Howe’s side won at Brentford on Saturday (Zac Goodwin/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has hailed the transformation of Joelinton from misfiring striker to midfield enforcer.

The Brazilian looked set to become one of the Premier League’s biggest flops after failing to fire in front of goal following his £40 million switch from Hoffenheim in 2019.

But Howe’s decision to pull Joelinton back into the centre of the pitch already looks an inspired one, and the 25-year-old capped another eye-catching display with the opening goal in Saturday’s crucial 2-0 win at Brentford.

“The biggest compliment I can pay him is that he hasn’t made it look difficult and hasn’t required too much information from me,” said Howe.

“He absorbs the information quickly and is able to deliver. There’s been no sense of us carrying him defensively, far from it.

“Naturally, he has an attacking eye, he takes up some really good positions under pressure, in tight areas he’s been very, very good.

“We need him to score from that position and he was the man who got that first goal for us. Hopefully he can get many more arriving late in the box.”

Brentford lost Josh Dasilva to an early red card after he inadvertently caught Matt Targett on the shin with his studs, and Joe Willock added the second goal just before half-time.

The return of Christian Eriksen, 259 days after he suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch at Euro 2020, ultimately transcended the result, but these are worrying times for the Bees who are plummeting down the table after seven defeats in eight matches.

“One random situation decided the game,” said head coach Thomas Frank.

“Playing 10 against 11 for 80 plus minutes is just tough, but we’ve got to keep working hard and showing togetherness and it will turn around.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in