Bruno Guimaraes (left), Anthony Gordon (centre) and Alexander Isak (right)
Bruno Guimaraes (left), Anthony Gordon (centre) and Alexander Isak are not justifying the hype that surrounds them
Newcastle United have a problem with their big-names players. And as we arrive in December, the evidence is clear. None of them are playing well, none of them look like the same players they were last season and none of them are justifying the hype that surrounds them.
It begs the question; do Bruno Guimarães, Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak think they are too good for Newcastle? Have they had their heads turned by the speculation linking them with moves away? Are they no longer fully motivated for that reason?
Accusations like this will not be popular. The trio are still the most celebrated and revered players on Tyneside. Calling them out will rub some up the wrong way, but sometimes difficult questions need asking, especially when the evidence points to an uncomfortable conclusion.
The trio have been above criticism in the past because all three were superb not just in the season Newcastle finished fourth and qualified for the Champions League, but last season too.
Elite players producing elite displays consistently. Quite simply, that is no longer happening and the dramatic drop in their performance levels should not be ignored. We are almost four months into the season and the pattern that has emerged is alarming.
Newcastle need their best players to be at their best to succeed, and they simply have not been delivering what we know they are capable of for far too long.
Yes, they have shown flashes and sporadic moments of quality, but they have also gone missing when the team and their manager, Eddie Howe, have needed their creative players and match-winners the most.
With Liverpool arriving at St James’ Park on Wednesday night, you may well see a better performance from Newcastle’s blue-chip brigade. After all, their best displays of the season have come in the most glamorous games in the victories over Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at St James’ Park and the draw with Manchester City.
But where were they during the home defeats against Brighton and West Ham? Or the disappointing performances away to Fulham, Everton and Bournemouth, as well as last weekend’s toothless draw against Crystal Palace?
If they want to end this sort of talk about lacking motivation, they can end it by delivering consistently on the pitch again.
After all, the underperforming trio all have one thing in common. Over the summer, they were heavily linked with moves away.
Bruno’s release clause of £100 million fuelled consistent rumours he was heading to Paris St-Germain, Arsenal or Manchester City. Yet, nobody activated it or made a bid after the June window.
Howe gave Bruno the captaincy in the summer, and the jury is out on whether that was a wise decision. He does not look like a natural leader on the pitch and may even have too much to think about, rather than concentrating on his own game.
Gordon, coming off the back of the best season of his career, thought he was signing for Liverpool in the summer. He even had a medical planned while he was with the England squad in Germany, so close, he believed, the move was.
Liverpool certainly expressed an interest, but they did not make a bid and the deal evaporated when Newcastle solved their PSR concerns by selling Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson instead.
Gordon has not looked the same player since. By every single metric, his performances have been less effective. His body language, at times, has also been poor, which is hard to deny.
Anthony Gordon reacts during the Premier League match between Fulham and Newcastle
Anthony Gordon’s body language against Fulham in September was troubling
Newcastle rewarded Gordon for last season’s form with a new contract in October, making him one of the club’s highest earners. They wanted to show how important he was, but since signing it, he has done very little to justify that decision.
As for Isak, he has been one of the best forward players in the Premier League for two years. Only Erling Haaland scored more Premier League goals than the Sweden international last season.
At the age of 25, and with the versatility to play as a number 10 or a number 9, as well as out wide, he has plenty of admirers. That is understandable, but he has also not looked the same player, even if he has scored five goals in 13 appearances.
Isak went off in the first half with a knock against Palace, leaving the team without a specialist centre-forward for more than an hour. He is expected to be fine to play against Liverpool on Wednesday night, however.
For all the talk of Chelsea wanting the former Real Sociedad star in the summer, there was no bid. Since then, his name has been persistently touted with a move to Arsenal, which has generated plenty of noise on social media too.
But Arsenal have not made a bid and there has been no contact between the clubs either. The idea that the Gunners have £100 million to spend on a striker in January is farcical. Isak is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Club and manager carry blame
The same is true for all of them. They might have made an error thinking they are too good for Newcastle, but they are definitely not playing like it. Who would sign any of them on current form?
These are challenging times, but Bruno, Gordon and Isak are the only people who can end it.
There are, of course, always mitigating circumstances. The club and Howe carry some responsibility, too.
The players were sold a vision of Newcastle challenging for the Champions League every year, competing for silverware when they signed. That is not where Newcastle are. They are a top-eight club, not top four and because of PSR, it is very hard to see them breaking through that ceiling in the short term.
The first team has grown stale, older and, without a new signing to improve the starting XI for more than a year, they are bound to be questioning the direction of travel.
Nevertheless, they still have a job to do and as Newcastle’s most talented, the burden of responsibility falls on them heavier than it does for others.
After years of praise and hero worship on Tyneside, this is the first truly bad spell in a while. They say form is temporary and class is permanent. Newcastle need the trio to prove that is true, not just against Liverpool, but in every game between now and May.
Where they are playing their football after that does not matter. Or at least it should not. But while they play for the club, Newcastle fans demand their total focus and commitment to the cause.
It is up to their star players to prove they are willing to uphold their end of the bargain.
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