Newcastle's £28m man who 'offers what no other midfielder does' threatens one-time untouchable
The return of Sandro Tonali and Joe Willock to the Newcastle United squad could see Joelinton's place in the club's starting XI under threat.
That's the view of our Newcastle United editor Aaron Stokes, who believes that Joelinton's performances have left the Brazilian at risk of dropping out the starting eleven - where he was once considered irreplaceable.
Joelinton impressed in Newcastle's opening day victory over Southampton where The Magpies ran out one-nil winners despite spending the majority of the game with 10 men, but since then the 28-year-old has struggled to make a positive impact.
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Tonali's return from his betting ban which saw the Italian out of action for 10 months has coincided with Willock coming back from injury - and both will be pushing for a starting call in this weekend's team for the trip to Fulham.
Speaking on The Monday Show via The Everything is Black and White Podcast, Stokes said: "A lot of people will say Joe Willock, if he can stay fit, is a real contender to be in there. There's questions about the midfield. There's questions about the front three, which I think will only grow after the win vs Wolves.
"With Joelinton, and I know we've spent months on this podcast saying if we'd rather lose one of them, we'd rather lose Bruno [instead of Joelinton] and all this stuff, and I'm not trying to be fair-weathered and fickle, but Joelinton this season, apart from maybe one game on the opening day, has been pretty poor, and Eddie Howe made a point against Wolves of saying that midfield did not have the energy and he wanted at half-time to change it and for Sandro Tonali and Joe Willock, there is a place there in that starting 11 if they want it.
"If Joe Willock can stay fit, a lot of people will say, you've got to start him because he offers what no other midfielder does, and that is fantastic running with the ball, presence in front of goal, really good ability in the final third.
"And what about Sean Longstaff, who many see as the one who instantly drops out, even though he's been Eddie Howe's reliable man under the radar and the unsung hero.
"But Sandro Tonali now doesn't look like he needs a period of grace to get back, he looks fit and ready. He's played 180 minutes for Italy in the week., and he came off the bench [vs Wolves] he was fantastic. He offers energy and can play as a six or an eight.
"There's big questions to be asked about that midfield, and I think looking at it now, it's not just Sean Longstaff who's at risk of losing his place. I really think Joelinton needs to up his game or he could lose it.”
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