Sport

Joelinton central to Newcastle’s future success

Sean Longstaff was bullish in response to the question from Sky Sports’ Patrick Davison. It was December 2021, and Brazilian Joelinton had just helped his Newcastle side to a more than credible draw against Manchester United at St James’ Park, as Eddie Howe began to gather momentum in the battle against relegation at the time, driving the team on from midfield.

Davison opened a post-match interview with the pair by telling Joelinton, the man of the match, that he didn’t realise he was ‘that good’. When Longstaff began to speak, he said that criticism of Joelinton, which at that point had been widespread in the two-and-a-half years since a then club record £40m move from Hoffenheim, was a ‘disgrace’ and asserted that every player in the squad wanted to be on his side in training.

But there was so much context to that game in particular. It was the first time a national audience had seen Joelinton’s new-found confidence in a different position. For so long, he was a flailing striker, struggling to make an impact up front for Newcastle, consumed by the pressure of his transfer fee and in particular the weight of the number 9 shirt. Joelinton was never the answer to the club’s need for a focal point and somebody to carry the pressure of scoring goals at St James’ Park, but his attitude was never in question, and neither were his attributes.

He was always big, strong, athletic and hard-working; former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann, whom he worked with at Hoffenheim, called him an ‘animal’. Howe found a way to unleash him.

There was an element of serendipity about his emergence as a midfielder. In a game against Norwich in early December, he was moved there because Newcastle had gone down to 10 men, and he dominated the match completely. Howe had told the Newcastle hierarchy how he saw Joelinton’s progression during his interview for the job. He had all the tools and raw abilities to become something fantastic, but was devoid of confidence and direction until he started working with Howe and he has never looked back since.

Fast-forward to the weekend, and Joelinton not only made his debut for Brazil, but scored in a match against Guinea. This comes after a video emerged from training; Joelinton showed his power and physicality to play the ball forward with a one-two and finish as soon as he received the ball again. It was another symbolic moment to showcase just how much Joelinton has transformed his entire career, and this wasn’t just a purple patch.

Nobody at Newcastle believed that was the case, but it was natural to wonder in the first few weeks. Such a drastic change in a career trajectory is rare, but has perhaps proven there is a need for more patience with players generally. What once looked like being a waste of £40m now looks like an absolute bargain.

Howe has taken Newcastle from the brink of the Championship all the way to the Champions League in 18 months. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he couldn’t have done that without Joelinton. His team are filled with desire and energy, their hallmark being an incredibly aggressive and effective counter-press. Newcastle are a tall, powerful team that are incredibly difficult to contain when in full flight. In many ways, they are a team built for Joelinton, so no wonder he is thriving on Tyneside now.

Imagining what he would cost now is difficult; it is hard to believe any interested team could find a figure that would grab Newcastle’s attention. That is a far cry from the days when some supporters claimed they would sell him for a nominal fee at the height of his struggles.

In April, Howe said that Joelinton was ‘worth his weight in gold’.

“I’m struggling to rack my brains to think of a transformation like it,” the Newcastle manager said.

“But I’m so pleased for him and he deserves all the credit because he’s really driven, motivated, keen to listen, learn, improve.

“He’s never happy. He’s one of the players who’s last off the training pitch every day, he’s really committed to his profession and I love to see people with all those characteristics then do well and succeed.”

There has been a lot of pride from inside the club at Joelinton’s rise; probably as a direct result of the vitriol he once received. Nobody deserves it more because even when it looked as though he was destined to leave through the back door, he kept his head up and never shirked. Now you couldn’t imagine this Newcastle team achieving anything like their levels of success had been left before their fortunes changed.

Their future will be brighter as long as Joelinton is central to it.