Newcastle United have had many memorable players over the years
It’s no shock that the Magpies passionate fanbase makes even the worst of players become cult heroes. A position fans love in particular is upfront with legends like Alan Shearer and Jackie Milburn donning the legendary number nine shirt for Newcastle.
Shearer wasn’t known for his pace though, older Toon fans will know that the likes of Les Ferdinand and Craig Bellamy did a lot of the running for Newcastle’s record goalscorer.
At the same time, there have been some less memorable number nines like Solomon Rondon, Papiss Cisse as well as Andy Carroll.
But again, those players weren’t known for their pace instead their strength and ability to finish from anywhere was widely recognised by toon fans.
However, there was one former number nine who was known for his pace and power. A player Toon boss Eddie Howe could do with as Newcastle struggles with injury problems continue. Current number nine Callum Wilson announced a layoff due to a lingering hamstring problem.
Obafemi Martins of Newcastle United
Photo by AMA/Corbis via Getty Images
Former Newcastle United striker Obafemi Martins claims he is faster than Thierry Henry
One man who has recently cropped back up is former Toon striker Obafemi Martins who signed from Inter Milan for €15 million (£12.3m) in August 2006 becoming the first player to wear the number nine shirt since Shearer’s retirement.
Martins scored 35 goals in 104 games in all competitions for Newcastle before leaving following Newcastle’s relegation in the 2008/09 season for £9 million.
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Thierry Henry took the Premier League by storm when he signed for Arsenal in 1999. Newcastle forward Alexander Isak has been likened the the French forward for his work on the ball, pace and agility.
That didn’t phase Martins at all. However, in a recent video with ESPN FC, the Nigerian forward was asked whether he was faster than several current Premier League players, including Micky Van de Ven, Kyle Walker, and Mohamed Salah, who scored a brace in Newcastle’s draw with Liverpool in December.
Martins confidently said that he was faster than all of them. When footballing legends like Henry and Gareth Bale were named he doubled down and confirmed he was faster than them too.
The 40-year-old was asked if former Chelsea and Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben was faster than him to which he said he was faster and “better on the ball”
In fact, he said that he was faster than everyone on the list telling the interviewer to “go to Inter Milan and ask about me”.
Who is the fastest Newcastle United player this season?
Newcastle are known for playing intense fast football and Howe needs pacey players to do that. With players like Isak and Anthony Gordon Newcastle are able to play the football they like for the most part.
According to BBC Sport and Opta. This season, Harvey Barnes is Newcastle’s fastest player with a top speed of 34.7km per hour.
He is still way off leader van de Ven who clocked in at a whopping 37.1km per hour.
Fans may think that Gordon would be the fastest due to his explosive tendencies but Barnes comes as a surprise especially after Jamaal Lascelles praised Gordon’s speed
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