Newcastle United forward Matias Fernandez-Pardo leaves the pitch during his side's win over Hull City (Image: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)
Newcastle United forward Matias Fernandez-Pardo leaves the pitch during his side's win over Hull City (Image: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)
HIS aggressive pressing might have caught the eye in his first four appearances as a Newcastle United player, but Matthias Jaissle has stressed there is much more to Matias Fernandez-Pardo than simply chasing down the opposition.
Having joined Newcastle in a £51m summer move from Lille, Fernandez-Pardo has found himself thrust into action as a makeshift ‘number nine’ in the early weeks of the season in the continued absence of the injured Will Osula.
The 21-year-old is hardly your typical Premier League centre-forward with his diminutive frame and tendency to sprint here, there and everywhere in the final third, and the fact he has amassed an xG of just 0.05 in his three league games so far suggests there is still plenty of work to do as he adapts to life in the English top-flight.
His aggressive high pressing was a key factor in Newcastle’s win over Hull prior to the international break though, with his relentless energy repeatedly unsettling the Tigers defence.
Stylistically, the Belgium international clearly suits the way Jaissle wants his side to play, particularly out of possession, but the Newcastle boss thinks it would be doing the youngster a disservice to overlook the qualities he is able to offer when he has the ball.
“He has everything to be a top striker,” said Jaissle, whose side return to action after the international break on Monday evening when they head to the CBS Arena to take on Coventry City. “We should not just see him or describe him as a player who presses the opposition at maximum speed.
“In possession, he’s running a lot of times in behind, we can use him as a link-up player, he’s technically gifted, he can play on the wings and he’s difficult to catch. I’m 100 per cent sure he will have a bright future with us.”
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Fernandez-Pardo’s performances with Lille, where he scored 12 goals in 71 Ligue 1 appearances, made him one of the most sought-after forwards in Europe this summer.
Newcastle started the summer with him as their number one attacking target, but had all but given up hope of prising him from Lille before the final week of the window.
An opportunity presented itself, and the Magpies moved decisively, making Fernandez-Pardo the most expensive of their summer recruits. These remain very early days in his development, but having been impressed by the youngster’s desire to move to Tyneside and willingness to do everything possible to try to settle in, the Newcastle hierarchy are more convinced than ever that they have signed a future star.
“He’s a young lad, a really young lad,” said Jaissle. “It’s part of the brave way, the brave journey we’re taking here. He came here really late with almost no pre-season, now he’s been three weeks with the national team but didn't play much or train much.
“We need to give him time, we need to be patient with him. He’s getting that. We will support him and we will get many great performances from him.”
With Osula still sidelined, Newcastle’s attacking line-up remains in something of a state of flux. Once the Danish youngster recovers from the injury he sustained on the opening day of the season against Liverpool, the expectation is that Osula will fill the lead-striker role with Fernandez-Pardo and Yoane Wissa battling for the ‘number ten’ spot in behind him.
Like Fernandez-Pardo, Wissa appears better suited to a more withdrawn attacking role than leading the line, with the DR Congo international having looked a completely different player in the first two months of the current campaign than for the vast majority of last season, when he struggled to make an impact following his summer move from Brentford.
“He [Wissa] is a player who can play in multiple positions,” said Jaissle. “He feels really comfortable playing behind the striker, and he’s bringing another element into the team doing that.
“I don’t want to stick and predict his future position now because I also want to have the open cards. But he’s doing an amazing job as the ten behind the striker.”