Coventry City 4-1 Newcastle United: Matthias Jaissle has explained why Sean Steur did not feature at Coventry City on Monday night.
Not only did the 18-year-old come out of the team in place of Nico Gonzalez, but he failed to get on the pitch despite the Magpies going on to lose the game 4-1 at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Steur’s performance against Hull City before the international break was hailed as ‘exceptional’ by head coach Matthias Jaissle. Despite returning from Netherlands Under-21s international duty without any fitness concerns, the teenager remained an unused substitute at Coventry.
An injured Sean Steur of Newcastle United reacts before leaving the fiel during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Newcastle United and Hull City at St James' Park on September 19, 2026 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)placeholder image
An injured Sean Steur of Newcastle United reacts before leaving the fiel during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Newcastle United and Hull City at St James' Park on September 19, 2026 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After the win over Hull last month, Jaissle revealed Steur is still getting used to the physicality of the Premier League and is yet to complete 90 minutes for the club.
“He was exceptional, like the other players as well,” said Jaissle after Hull. “It was a performance you would wish from a really experienced, mature, old player, but he's so young. Showing that after a match where he was not at his highest level, where he already got a lot of criticism...
“We are emotionally stable, we give him all, and the other lads as well, all the confidence, the support, and then he's showing up like this. It's really special, not normal in football for a young lad, so I'm really pleased.
“On the other hand, it also shows that we have a young squad, and they need to adapt to the physicality of that league, that you can perform like this over 90 minutes plus additional time. So that will also be the next step for the upcoming months.”
But Monday’s match was the first match in which Steur has failed to get any minutes on the pitch so far this season.
Matthias Jaissle’s spiky response to Sean Steur snub
When asked why Steur didn’t feature in the match, Jaissle played down any suggestion of a fitness issue and instead justified his call by the return of Gonzalez from a concussion injury.
“Because in that position Nico Gonzalez was starting,” Jaissle told the Gazette. “Therefore, we decided to play Nico.”
Gonzalez was arguably one of Newcastle’s better performers in the match. But in a game that ultimately got away from Newcastle, in which Jaissle used all five of his substitutes, leaving Steur on the bench certainly raised a few eyebrows.