Eddie Howe 'reward' makes little sense as Newcastle boss receives clear Sandro Tonali message
Eddie Howe held his hands up and took responsibility for throwing Joe Willock back into his starting lineup prematurely over the weekend after 'rewarding' the midfielder for a solid showing the week prior. But if Willock was handed such a prize for an impressive cameo in Newcastle United's win at Wolves, why hasn't Sandro Tonali started recent matches following his impressive return to competitive football?
The Italian has looked more than ready when being used from the bench for his club - and starting twice in a matter of days for his country - but Howe still doesn't feel ready to throw him back in from the outset. Instead, with Willock returning to play on the left of Newcastle's midfield three, Joelinton was moved to an unfamiliar role on the right, over Tonali, and struggled.
The travelling Magpies' faithful made their feelings clear from the stands of Craven Cottage as they sent a clear message to Howe, chanting Tonali's name during the second-half as he watched on from the sidelines. Howe eventually gave those in attendance what they so clearly craved, bringing the former AC Milan man off the bench with 74 minutes on the clock.
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“I'm Sandro's biggest supporter as well but I can only judge what I see,” Howe told reporters after Saturday's 3-1 defeat. “Sandro came on the pitch today and I don't think we were particularly good in that phase of the game.
“I wanted us to chase the game better towards the end but every player has the opportunity when they're on the pitch to make a difference.”
There was always going to be clamour to see Tonali once again after such an extended period on the sidelines but the ever-growing desire for him to return to the starting XI, for a large part, is down to how well he has performed since returning last month.
Tonali was a shining star in the narrow win over Nottingham Forest, his first start for the club, but since then Howe has shown a reluctance to include him from the outset.
With Sean Longstaff dropping out of the side in the capital over the weekend, it was expected the 2023 addition would be the man to take his spot, given his reliability playing on the right side of Howe's midfield three. Instead it was Joelinton switched to that particular role, while Willock, on the left of the trio, was hooked at half-time.
Tuesday's tie with AFC Wimbledon would no doubt have been the perfect opportunity to throw Tonali in from the outset to assess his readiness for the visit of Manchester City on Saturday. With the aforementioned Carabao Cup clash now taking place on October 1, the question still lingers over whether the £55m man will be 'rewarded' for his own fine form in the coming days and weeks.