After joining in a club-record £40 million deal, there was always going to be huge pressure on star signing Joelinton.
That pressure has now increased tenfold following the Magpies’ woeful start to the campaign, with the Brazilian still yet to get off the mark for his new club.
And Newcastle fan page NUFC 360 recently addressed the striker’s start to life on Tyneside, which ended up causing plenty of debate on social media regarding the 23-year-old.
Twitter: Addressing Joelinton’s performances and his pricetag. We’ve payed £40M for potential, not ability. The kid has a LO… https://t.co/QMyctQIpvT (@NUFC360)
Some were quick to hit out at the former Hoffenheim man.
Twitter: @NUFC360 He’s useless. (@scurrilusrumour)
Twitter: @NUFC360 Better not of paid 40 million pounds for potential (@WillemsWay)
Twitter: @NUFC360 I’ve never seen a slower 22-year-old professional athlete worth 40m! He was bullied by Grant Hanley! Misse… https://t.co/4cNsEs1muZ (@SmartphoneWars_)
However, these Newcastle fans were happy to defend the striker, with some hitting out at Steve Bruce’s tactics as the reason for the player’s poor start.
Twitter: @NUFC360 Of course he’s gonna keep the ball for too long when his support is always 40 yards away (@GeordieDubravka)
Twitter: @NUFC360 Everybody criticising the lad after 2 performances….. get a grip man !! We’re playing the wrong formatio… https://t.co/HUTHxZ4TLs (@cheikky)
Twitter: @NUFC360 Our formation right now would make the best of strikers look awful. He had absolutely no options within 30/40 yards of him (@lnglzrd)
Twitter: @NUFC360 To help him learn he needs a competent manager and coaching staff, neither of which he has. That’s the iss… https://t.co/2ntODUAyad (@jkeatley1892)
But will Bruce persist with Joelinton this weekend against Tottenham?
Read Newcastle verdict
It could be another frustrating afternoon for Joelinton this Sunday, but we think Bruce will leave him out of the starting lineup come Sunday.
The striker was forced off with an injury at Carrow Road last weekend and Bruce admitted the club will assess the player’s hip this week. Even if the scans come back all clear, it could be best for the player to be left out of the squad.
Many Newcastle fans aren’t expecting the club to register a first Premier League point on the weekend, so handing Yoshinori Muto the chance to impress may well be the right call.
It’ll be interesting to see whether or not Joelinton does feature, and following the club’s poor start, it looks increasingly unlikely that the striker will bag 10 league goals in a season for the first time in his career.
