Newcastle signed Joelinton from Hoffenheim for a club-record fee of £40 million in July 2019, smashing the previous club record which was the £21 million paid for Miguel Almiron six months earlier.
The Brazilian signed a six-year deal on Tyneside and there was plenty of excitement from the club’s fans when he was given the iconic number nine shirt.
The signing of Joelinton gave fans a slight lift after the departure of widely loved manager Rafa Benitez, who had left the club a month earlier.
Presumably signed as a replacement for Salomon Rondon, Joelinton made his debut against Arsenal and started upfront but the early signs were there that he wasn’t a true striker.
For Hoffenheim, he played on the left side of a front three and rarely played as a lone striker and he was pretty effective for them.
In this campaign, Joelinton played in every Premier League game, starting 32 out of the 37 matches, meaning he played 2654 minutes in total.
Although he has played a staggering amount of minutes, he only scored two goals and registered two assists in the league which is nowhere near enough output for the first-choice striker.
It’s not just the lack of goal involvements which is a concern, but his overall play hasn’t been up to Premier League standard.
After watching him play this season, I don’t know what his best position is on the pitch and he hasn’t shown the quality or skills to be a Premier League player.
In my opinion, Newcastle should sell Joelinton just to get him off the books because he hasn’t got a great touch, he’s not that quick, he can’t hold the ball up, he can’t cross, he’s not a finisher and he just seems to be a passenger in matches.
We’ve had many similar players to Joelinton in the past such as Riviere, Xisco and Luuk De Jong. The only difference between these three players and Joelinton is the £40 million price tag, however, on the pitch, they are very similar in terms of their lack of ability and skill required to succeed in the Premier League.
