Rob Lee feels Newcastle United now have a ‘£60-70m’ star on their hands in Joelinton. The Newcastle legend believes the Brazilian looks ‘immense’ in midfield every game.
Since Eddie Howe took over at St James’ Park, Newcastle fans have seen Joelinton turn his career in black and white around. The 26-year-old had been heavily criticized for his work as a striker under Steve Bruce, having cost the Magpies £40 million in 2019.
The famous No9 jersey was also awarded to Joelinton, who joined from Hoffenheim as Bruce’s first signing. Prior to moving to England, he had only scored 11 goals and assisted nine more for the Bundesliga club in 35 games across all competitions.
Joelinton would go on to score 10 goals and assist eight more in 89 appearances for Newcastle under Bruce. He played 68 games as a center-forward, 17 on the left wing, and four on the right. As a striker, he scored all of his goals and had eight assists.
Despite this, Howe has only used Joelinton as an out-and-out center-forward six times in 53 appearances under him. Instead, the Toon boss has fielded the Alianca-born star as a centralised midfielder on 35 occasions. He has also appeared in 12 games on the left wing.
Joelinton has repaid Howe’s faith in him with seven goals and three assists ahead of Newcastle’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester United on Sunday. The Magpies also named the £86.5k-a-week star as their Player of the Year after the 2021/22 campaign.
Now, Newcastle legend Lee believes that by reviving Joelinton’s career, Howe has a midfielder worth ‘£60-70m’ on his hands. He also claims that the Toon and Bruce did not assist the Brazilian by giving him the No. 9 shirt. In July 2021, Joelinton changed his shirt number to seven.
“Joelinton has been incredible,” Lee said to talkSPORT. “He has gone from being a £40m flop centre-forward to a £60-£70m midfielder. I simply believe he has found the right position.
“I don’t know who thought he was a centre-forward – whether it was the club at the time that thought that – it was just a bad decision giving him the No9 shirt. It did him no good, and you could tell he was lacking in confidence.
“Everyone thought he was this Alan Shearer goalscoring center-forward, which he was never. Now that he’s returned to the midfield, he looks incredible in every game. He’s big and powerful, and he’s scored a few goals, which is exactly what you want your midfielders to do.”
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