Ally McCoist waxes lyrical over one-of-a-kind Newcastle ace and predicts how Magpies’ Champions League hunt will end
Ally McCoist has heaped praise on one Newcastle United player for how he has performed under Eddie Howe this season, while also discussing the Magpies’ pursuit of Champions League qualification.
Newcastle struggled between late January and early March, picking up just one win from six matches in all competitions. Howe’s side lost to Manchester United at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final and dropped points to West Ham and Bournemouth in the Premier League, which weakened their top-four chances.
However, Newcastle have bounced back with four consecutive league victories since being beaten by Manchester City on March 4.
They eased past top-four rivals Man Utd at St James’ Park, picking up a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Joe Willock and Callum Wilson. And on Wednesday they blew West Ham away with a 5-1 demolition of David Moyes’ team in east London.
Newcastle now sit in third place with 53 points. They are ahead of Man Utd on goal difference and three points above fifth-placed Tottenham, as well as boasting a game in hand on Spurs.
Howe has clearly been helped by some of the top signings Newcastle have made, such as Bruno Guimaraes, Sven Botman and Alexander Isak. But the manager has also done a great job at improving some of the players who were already at the club, such as Joelinton, Miguel Almiron and Sean Longstaff.
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McCoist has sung the praises of Joelinton, who is enjoying a brilliant campaign after previously struggling in a Newcastle shirt. Howe loves the Brazilian as he can either play as a winger or in central midfield.
McCoist has been so impressed by Joelinton’s improvement that he believes he has never seen a player transform as well as the 26-year-old has.
McCoist blown away by Joelinton ‘transformation’
“I keep asking the boys in the north east, I don’t think I’ve seen a transformation in a player anywhere, at any time, that’s been better than Joelinton,” the pundit said on talkSPORT.
“I remember going to watch Newcastle and I actually felt sorry for the lad. He was trying but he couldn’t hit a cow on the backside with a banjo!
“It’s brilliant to see, it just shows you how a change in manager [makes the difference] because he was dropped back a bit, he was playing a bit deeper. I mean, brilliant!”
McCoist then gave his verdict on Newcastle and their UCL chase. “And Newcastle are absolutely flying – they are in pole position for a Champions League place now,” he added.
Qualifying for Europe’s elite club competition would be brilliant for everyone involved with Newcastle. It would show that their project is on the right path, and is actually ahead of schedule.
Being in next season’s UCL should help Newcastle to sign even more top stars. They are interested in Leicester’s James Maddison, although competition will arise from Liverpool and Spurs.
Howe is also hopeful of capturing Kieran Tierney from Arsenal. The left-back is eager to leave the Emirates after losing his starting spot to Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Meanwhile, a report claims Newcastle could raid West Ham for one of their best players if relegation is confirmed.
