Newcastle United have enjoyed an excellent start to the 2024/25 Premier League season, with Eddie Howe engineering three wins and a draw from the opening four matches.
This has proven to be the perfect way to expel the malaise that has seeped into Tyneside following a disappointing summer transfer window. Newcastle might not have secured top target Marc Guehi or brought in a high-profile new forward, but oh do the Magpies boast some talent.
Alexander Isak is one of the finest strikers in Europe; Anthony Gordon is a fast-rising winger who was crowned United’s Player of the Season for 2023/24. Bruno Guimaraes doesn’t really need an introduction, he’s that good.
These are the salient superstars in England’s North East. But Newcastle’s first team is comprised of myriad cogs, all hard-working and thriving within the system.
Joelinton is one such player, having been a revelation since being repackaged into a bullish midfield role after initially struggling as a striker. How he struggled.
What was said about Joelinton when he signed
Joelinton quite quickly fell by the wayside at Newcastle. The one-time striker was signed from Hoffenheim in a club-record £40m deal in 2019, having impressed, aged 22, in Germany, notching 11 goals and nine assists during his final term.
It went downhill like a boulder… going down a hill. Joelinton concluded his first season on English shores with just two goals and two assists across 38 Premier League matches.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said: “If they were looking for a similar player to Rondon, Joelinton is him.” It was clear that the Venezuelan centre-forward, who had enjoyed a productive loan spell with the Toon the year before, needed replacing, but Klopp’s words would have been more apt if framed through the negative tint of the hulking striker’s career, like when he played for Everton.
Indeed, Joelinton was even remarked to have “similar traits” to Rondon by journalist Andrew Musgrove, standing at 6 foot 3 and winning 6.1 duels per match in the Bundesliga the year prior, evidence of his innate physicality.
Rondon’s comparative success with Newcastle was probably viewed dolefully by Magpies fans who watched Joelinton struggle through contests each week, with the Brazilian even being viewed as the worst Premier League transfer in modern history at the time. Reporter Declan Carr echoed this, calling him “the worst signing ever” in 2021.
He was simply not a natural finisher, lacking composure and temperament in vital moments. His former Hoffenheim boss Julian Nagelsmann had described him as an “animal” before moving across Europe to England, but such raw and ferocious character was not enough to dispel the notion that he wasn’t cut out for the number nine role.
Howe deserves all the plaudits for transforming the club, bringing in some exciting quality but also resurrecting some existing strugglers. Fabian Schar has grown into his skin under the 46-year-old’s tutelage and Jacob Murphy offers a good squad option, for example.
But Joelinton is the cream of that long-serving crop, and it’s all thanks to his positional rebirth.
Joelinton under Eddie Howe
Let’s not get it wrong here, Howe was not the architect of Joelinton’s reformed role in the middle of the park. His predecessor, Steve Bruce, was.
Joelinton: Premier League Stats by Season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Average Position | Apps | Goals | Assists |
24/25 | Central midfield | 4 (4) | 1 | 0 |
23/24 | Central midfield | 20 (15) | 2 | 1 |
22/23 | Attacking midfield | 32 (30) | 6 | 2 |
21/22 | Attacking midfield | 35 (30) | 4 | 1 |
20/21 | Centre-forward | 31 (23) | 4 | 2 |
19/20 | Centre-forward | 38 (32) | 2 | 2 |
Stats via Transfermarkt | ||||
Bruce, at the least, got the ball rolling, attempting to shift the 28-year-old across various wide attacking and midfield roles before his dismissal, and Howe then found the blueprint for the machine’s success.
The result has been masterful. As per FBref, the £150k-per-week talent ranked among the top 17% of Premier League midfielders in 2022/23 for goals scored, the top 6% for successful take-ons, the top 10% for interceptions and the top 3% for aerial duels won per 90.
That was the year that Newcastle defied expectations and beat the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur to a spot in the Champions League, finishing fourth in the English top flight.
Last season, Joelinton was faced with fresh adversity: an injury-affected year precluded him from reaching the same heights and contributed toward Howe’s side’s struggles, but perhaps this only personified his unique importance.
Indeed, during the 2022/23 campaign, he averaged 2.2 tackles, 1.5 interceptions, 1.7 dribbles and won seven duels per game, as per Sofascore, truly underscoring the robust and relentless nature that worked oh-so-well with Guimaraes and Co in the centre of the pitch.
Hailed as a “machine” by teammate Kieran Trippier, this mass of muscle has stretched beyond his perceived ability and found true success in midfield for Newcastle, rewriting his own script and continuing to make a marked impact on his side’s efforts.
After all, he’s started each of Newcastle’s matches so far this season and has yet to suffer defeat, indeed perching in third place in the Premier League.
Therefore, Newcastle can now say that they have hit the jackpot on the Brazil international, who might have had as rough a start as any in England, but now stands proudly as one of the most important players of a still-evolving golden era.
It’s funny to think that he was once viewed as a striker in the mould of Rondon. Things have certainly changed – for the better.
