Former Newcastle star Chris Waddle believes his old side have two great wingers on their hands
Harvey Barnes, Joe Willock, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga during a warm up
Newcastle United have been backed to continue their strong start to the season when the Premier League resumes after the international break – but could do with getting one key player fit.
The Magpies have secured eight points from their first five games, a respectable haul given the issues that emerged over the summer. United were forced into a late change of manager, after Eddie Howe’s exit, and saw three of their best players – Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes – also leave the club.
It meant there were fears that it could be a tough start to the season for new boss Matthias Jaissle and his squad of young players, but Newcastle responded well and sit in ninth spot in the table ahead of their return to action on October 12 at Coventry City.
A battling 2-1 win over Hull City sent them into the break in fine fettle, especially given they had nine first team players missing from that game. Two have returned to training this week – Joelinton and Nico Gonzalez – but there were still a number of absentees from the squad.
One of those was Anthony Elanga, who is recovering from a thigh injury. Newcastle sent the winger for an MRI scan and it is believed to have shown he could be missing for three to four weeks.
It was a blow for Newcastle and the Swedish international himself, who had started the season in fine fashion with goals against Liverpool and Spurs in the opening two Premier League games, as he looked to put behind him a tough first 12 months on Tyneside after his £55million move from Nottingham Forest.
Former Newcastle and England star Chris Waddle knows a thing or two about wingers and he believes Elanga has grown in confidence – which could be down to being seen as a senior player after the departure of so many big names in the summer.
“I think we had high hopes on signing Anthony Elanga as he did well at Forest,” Waddle said. “He played in a different type of system though at Forest, counter-attacking, whereas Newcastle press high and get the ball back and the crowd drive them up the field.
“I think he found that style of play hard, obviously moving and settling in at a new place. He just lost a little bit of confidence, I thought, and that season just passed him by, let’s be honest.
“Whether he feels settled now with other players leaving, he’s become an important figure now to the club, especially with the quality of who left.
“So it’s nice to see him hit the ground running, because if he’d started the season badly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d tried to move him on. He has put last season behind him, it wasn’t a great season for him and let’s say so far he has hit the ground running and he does look full of confidence. Let’s hope he’s back in the team after the break.”
Newcastle have seen criticism aimed at their forward players at times already this season, with a lack of quality and end product suggested, particularly out wide. However, Waddle has defended their contribution and also pointed to Harvey Barnes’ form this term.
The England international is Newcastle’s top goalscorer with three strikes, and got two assists against Hull for his role in Lewis Hall and Joe Willock’s goals.
“Harvey Barnes has always been a good player,” Waddle added to Betpack. “With Leicester, he was always a threat down that left-hand side, he scored a load of goals.
“He’s still a big threat and we all know he’s got a lot of ability, but unfortunately, he couldn’t get a shirt last year because [Jacob] Murphy and [Anthony] Gordon were playing very, very well.
“But he’s had his opportunity and he’s taken it, let’s be honest. He’s been probably the most consistent player so far for Newcastle this season. He’s always carried a threat, got a goal in him, we know that. But I think he’s going to get better and better.”