It seems that we are always bemoaning the lack of consistency at St James’ Park – from the boardroom to the turf. As many fans will tell you, unpredictability is a key theme on Tyneside and, over the years, this inconsistency has been well represented in our defense.
However one key constant, in a season of instability at the back, has been the exciting arrival of Dutch full-back, Daryl Janmaat.
Appearing in every league game so far, Janmaat has quickly established himself as one of the few mainstays in the United defense. Returning from Brazil with an impressive string of World Cup performances under his belt, it could be argued that the 25-year-old has settled into life in the Premier League the quickest from several overseas arrivals, cementing his place in the starting eleven.
Brought in as a like for like replacement for Debuchy, Janmaat has quickly implemented his impressive work rate and dynamic driving runs onto Tyneside. As each game passes his five million pound price tag looks a shrewd bit of business in what was a busy summer transfer window, which centered on bringing fresh attacking impetus to the side.
Janmaat’s determination to bomb forward has seen him record five assists so far this season, already matching his total from his final season in the Eredivisie. It also makes him the second highest assist providing defender in the league, behind Leighton Baines’ eight. Along with the two assists he supplied in the Netherlands’ run to last year’s World Cup semi-finals, his stats prove he is worth his weight in gold when it comes to the providing of goals on Tyneside.
In a game of ifs and buts, given Cisse’s minutes to goals ratio this season, if the Senegalese front-man wasn’t injured as often as he has been, it would have been exciting to see if he could have fed off Janmaat’s delivery throughout a full season. For the sake of our defensive instability and the lack of a constant chance creator, let’s hope Janmaat’s time on Tyneside is less fleeting than his French predecessor.
The arrival of Janmaat has shored up the right side of defense, and it’s a shame he hasn’t had the chance to develop a solid relationship with a partner down the right, or his form hasn’t been replicated by a marauding left back too. An 81% pass completion, alongside an 85% tackle success rate in his final season at Feyenoord are stats many Newcastle fans would warmly welcome into an often shaky back four.
