Back-to-back victories before the international break should have meant Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United were in a confident mood travelling to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.
However, come full-time on the South Coast, the visiting Magpies fell victim to a third Premier League defeat of the campaign already, as a Danny Welbeck double handed the hosts a slender 2-1 victory.
Sitting in a below-par 12th position after eight games could spur Howe into taking decisive action to push his team up the standings, with regular first-teamer Joelinton perhaps at risk of dropping out of his manager’s starting XI, after another out-of-sorts performance was served up by the Brazilian.
Why Joelinton needs to be replaced
With 239 Newcastle games under his belt, it is clear that Joelinton is a firm fan favourite at St James’ Park when he’s firing on all cylinders.
Indeed, the energetic South American has even been hailed as a “machine” in the past by teammate Kieran Trippier when he’s run himself into the ground for the cause, with his tally of 31 goals and 21 assists over that same stretch of games making him an even more useful asset to have around, away from just his hard-working nature.
Yet, he hasn’t been without his critics this season, with his 45-minute stint against the Seagulls last time out declared by Newcastle-based blog Mouth of the Tyne as being “not good enough” amid his overall drop-off being “really noticeable.”
When looking deeper into his numbers, it’s clear to see why many haven’t minced their words, with the number seven only managing to register 21 accurate passes as a passenger, while also failing to hit a single effort at the Brighton goal.
Unfortunately, it does appear as if Joelinton is now declining after hitting his Tyneside peak, with a period out of Howe’s first team maybe doing the eight-time Brazil international some good in the long run, as he attempts to get back to his best.
It could also open up opportunities for those on the periphery to take over from Joelinton, with one youthful bright spark now ready to be unleashed as a long-term replacement for the 29-year-old.
Newcastle's ideal Joelinton replacement
Of course, Joelinton isn’t in isolation as an underperformer that will be worrying Howe, with Anthony Elanga also hooked at the half-time break against Brighton after an equally unmemorable shift against Fabian Hurzeler’s hosts.
Jacob Murphy could well step up and replace Elanga in the near future as an experienced, steady presence in his manager’s camp. Whereas, when searching for a replacement for Joelinton, Howe might be tempted to give 19-year-old hotshot Lewis Miley the platform to express himself more regularly, after the teenager assisted Nick Woltemade’s clever finish against Brighton.
Credit also has to go to the number 67, who quickly found Woltemade in space to convert with a back-heel, after only being on the pitch for 31 minutes to pick up his first goal contribution of the season.
This already gives him the upper hand over Joelinton, with Miley hopeful he can live up to all the early hype that surrounded his fledgling Magpies career once upon a time to maintain a first-team spot.
Premier League games
38
Age of PL debut
17 years, 27 days
PL goals
2
PL assists
4
Champions League games
4
Age of CL debut
17 years, 6 months + 7 days
CL goals
0
CL assists
1
Amazingly, Miley is already up to 54 senior appearances for his boyhood side, with Premier League and Champions League debuts handed to the 6-foot-2 ace at just 17 years of age, not fazing him one bit, with an assist also next to his name in Europe’s elite competition.
It has led to a lot of praise coming his way, with NBC Sport’s Robbie Earle once referring to Miley as a “little diamond” for his “classy” displays, while pundit Pat Nevin has also exclaimed that the 19-year-old is “the next young English superstar.”
Still, despite all these glowing words, Miley only has one top-flight start next to his name this season.
Expect that to soon change, however, if Howe decides that enough is enough for Joelinton being a concrete member of his first team.