Chris Waddle verdict on Newcastle United winger situation | OneFootball

Chris Waddle has been discussing the Newcastle United winger situation.

Especially the choices Eddie Howe has on the right side of the pitch.

Anthony Elanga signed in the summer for £55m (£52m guaranteed and £3m in potential future add-ons) from Forest.

However, the new signing has made only four Premier League starts so far, with Jacob Murphy regularly starting instead.

Back in the early eighties, Chris Waddle emerged as not too bad a Newcastle United winger himself…

Now he has looked at the Eddie Howe options in the present day.

Chris Waddle asked by She Kicks about Newcastle United right wing situation; ‘You were worried Anthony Elanga was not suited to Howe’s tactics – what have you made of him so far?’

“He’s not got a run in the team yet really, has he?

“Jacob Murphy won the shirt back, when everyone assumed he was going to be down the pecking order below Elanga.

“At Nottingham Forest, they played counter-attacking football. They didn’t go pressing high up, and Forest instead were well drilled, organised and compact. They would hit teams on the break with pace, and they had that with Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi. . “With Newcastle under Eddie Howe, it’s not about dropping off. It’s about going up high and getting the ball back. Maybe that style of play has caught Anthony out a bit. He needs to go and chase down full-backs, and that’s a constant requirement. When you have the ball, you push forward quickly.

“Perhaps Elanga has been used to a slower game at Forest, and then there’s also the fact he’s had to move to the North East. He might have been in a hotel for the first months, he could be taking time to settle. You don’t know how he’s been able to adjust and he might have mentally had to take some time to adjust. Maybe his confidence has been hit a little.

“He’s not hit the ground running, Murphy has the shirt back and impressed down the right-hand side when he played, which is what Howe wants.

“Until Elanga can do that for Eddie, he’s going to have to sit it out.”

My conclusions

Eddie Howe had been trying to sign Anthony Elanga for some time and is adamant that the former Forest winger will prove to be a great signing for Newcastle United in time.

Elanga was excellent against Union S-G and Barcelona in the Champions League, whilst doing a great job in attack and defence (tracking back to deal with the dangerous Djed Spence) to help United defeat Spurs and move into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.

As Chris Waddle says though, with Anthony Elanga coming into a new club and different way of playing, players can take time to adjust. Especially flair players.

This is particularly so I think when Newcastle United so far haven’t dominated games so much as they would have liked in the Premier League so far. We need the midfield (and defence) to tighten their grip on games and give that positive platform for attacking players to show their best.