Newcastle United have made a very positive start to their season. They should have won against Liverpool in their opening game but drew 2-2 as a result of a last-gasp penalty they conceded. That was followed by a 3-2 win over West Bromwich Albion and a 2-0 away win against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
So, there is suddenly a newfound positivity around a club that seemed headed in a completely wrong direction even a couple of weeks ago. That is how quickly things can change in football. But that means the opposite can happen as well.
Newcastle United need to try and make the most of this early-season momentum. Standing in their way will be Bournemouth, who are trying to find their feet in the post-Andoni Iraola era. But their elite recruitment means that they should not have too many problems with that.
Bournemouth are still searching for their first win this season. Matthias Jaissle has had a much better start but has a lot to think about going into the weekend.
Matthias Jaissle tipped to drop Newcastle United starter vs Bournemouth
Jack Dawson, in a report for Football Insider, has claimed that Jaissle must consider dropping Harvey Barnes for Newcastle United’s upcoming game against Bournemouth.
To back this up, Dawson points towards Barnes’ performance the last time Newcastle United faced Bournemouth. The winger had completed just 69% of his passes, created zero chances, did not manage a single shot on target, failed with all four of his attempted dribbles, was dispossessed on three occasions and only won 27% of his ground duels.
That does not make for good reading, there is no doubt about that. That being said, this is a completely different season and a new manager. It is hard to imagine that such decisions will be made based on last season.
Barnes has started both against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. And in the one game in which he did not start, against West Brom, he came off the bench to score a match-winning brace.
All things considered, it is pretty unlikely that Jaissle will not start with Barnes at the weekend. But then again, there is one factor which cannot be overlooked.
Could Matias Fernandez-Pardo get Harvey Barnes’ place?
Newcastle United went out and shelled out €60 million-plus to sign Matias Fernandez-Pardo on deadline day from Lille. When an investment of that magnitude is made, you expect the player to be starting.
Fernandez-Pardo’s best position is believed to be up front as a number 9. But Yoane Wissa has been brilliant in that role under Jaissle so far, arguably Newcastle United’s best player at the start of this campaign.
So, Wissa cannot be dropped. As a result, in order to accomodate both, Fernandez-Pardo might play quite a bit on the wing this season.
Does that mean that Barnes will be dropped this weekend? Most probably not. It has only been a few days since Fernandez-Pardo arrived and it is quite likely that he will start on the bench against Bournemouth. But do not count any possibility out.
