Newcastle United’s midfield unit of Joelinton, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes has rightly been celebrated in the past but they were toyed with by West Ham’s Freddie Potts and Mateus Fernandes on Sunday.
Indeed, Newcastle United put in a dire performance against West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday and were soundly beaten 3-1 at the London Stadium.
The whole team was off it in east London and, sadly, that is seemingly the norm anywhere other than St James’ Park right now.
The strength of Newcastle’s midfield took them to unprecedented success in the club’s modern era last season but things have not clicked quite as often this time around.
Newcastle fans are angry with Joelinton but Tonali and Guimaraes weren’t much better against the Hammers.
Sandro Tonali is dejected after Newcastle United's defeat to West Ham at the London Stadium.
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
West Ham officially say Freddie Potts won the battle against Newcastle United’s midfield
After the game, West Ham’s official website rightly revelled in their victory.
They listed five things they loved about their team’s performance and, naturally, they zeroed in on Potts.
“Freddie Potts produced a coming-of-age performance at the heart of West Ham United’s midfield,” they wrote.
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“Making his full Premier League debut, the 22-year-old stood tall and, alongside fellow youngster Mateus Fernandes and goalscorer Lucas Paqueta, won the battle against Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton.
“Potts completed 33 of his 39 passes, including two key passes, and made four tackles, six clearances and an interception in an exceptional all-round display.
“He would also have had a maiden goal for his boyhood Club to celebrate, if only the big toe on Tomas Soucek’s size eleven right boot had not strayed an inch offside.
“It mattered not, though, as the No32 left the pitch with the supporters singing his name and a big smile on his face.”
To say that was a fair assessment of the game would be an understatement.
Now, Potts is an exciting young player who may go on to great things. This is no reflection on him as an individual but the fact he and Fernandes (who boast 49 Premier League appearances between them) toyed with Newcastle’s midfield should be a worry for Eddie Howe.
Lucas Paqueta did his bit too but it was Potts and Fernandes who denied the visitors much chance of stringing any kind of fluency together.
They were played around and beaten for intensity, guile and quality all game.
Where Newcastle United should go next with their midfield
At least one of Lewis Miley, Joe Willock or Jacob Ramsey should come into the side now. It’s hard to see Guimaraes or Tonali being dropped, so Joelinton looks the most likely candidate to come out of the team.
While it would be understandable to a degree if Howe wanted to keep the three together given their success last season, not changing things quickly enough risks further frustrating supporters.
The West Ham game was humbling for Newcastle. It must be a turning point.
Unless Newcastle’s midfield reserve options get some meaningful game time soon, Howe will be questioned.