Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has slammed Joelinton’s start to life on Tyneside, with the striker continuing his barren run at St. James’ Park following the Magpies’ 3-0 defeat against Leicester City.
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The Brazilian striker – a £40m acquisition in the summer – has still only found the net once for Steve Bruce’s side since his switch from Hoffenheim, and Shearer believes it is time the 23-year-old showed some progression.
It has now been over four months since Joelinton netted the winner against Spurs in late August, with Shearer suggesting on BBC’s Match of the Day that fans will now be demanding some improvement from their record signing in the second half of the campaign.
He said: “From a Newcastle point of view, you don’t mind being beaten, but it’s the manner in which Newcastle are beaten.
“Gifting goals defensively – they did the same at Manchester United and they’ve done the same again [against Leicester].
“Going forward, Joelinton needs to improve and he has to improve rapidly – because he’s nowhere near what Newcastle fans expect. They expect much, much better and he has to improve.”
While it is totally reasonable to expect your striker to be netting more often than Joelinton has so far, it could be argued some of his recent performances have been on the up in recent weeks.
The striker played a vital role in Matty Longstaff’s opener at Old Trafford on Boxing Day, while his following performance against Everton was one of just four which have seen him top his WhoScored match rating against Spurs.
Having said that, there is little denying his scoring record is poor nevertheless – and therefore makes Newcastle’s form no great surprise with three consecutive losses to end their festive run of fixtures.
Given only Watford and Sheffield United have scored less often than the Magpies this season, it wouldn’t be a shock to find the fans yearning for goals, whoever scores them – though Shearer’s insistence that Joelinton is responsible is entirely understandable.
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