Jeff Hendrick gives his views on Isak, Woltemade, Joelinton and Eddie Howe for Manchester United | OneFootball

Jeff Hendrick has been talking about what the position is now at Newcastle United and the various issues are at the club.

The midfielder was signed by Newcastle United in 2020 on a free transfer when his Burnley deal ended.

The disastrous combination of Mike Ashley and Steve Bruce overseeing a process of Newcastle United heading into deep decline, all the underlying factors were clear as day.

The ‘bargain’ summer 2020 signings of Ryan Fraser and Jeff Hendrick summing things up.

In truth, neither player good enough for what Newcastle United needed, but Mike Ashley happy to take them on due to their ‘free’ transfer status.

Hendrick given a four year contract and Fraser a five year one, each of them on a reported £3m a year (£60,000 a week) deal, these would be long-term nightmare signings that would prove very expensive longer-term. Neither of them Premier League quality by the time they arrived at St James’ Park and then proving impossible to get off the books, Ryan Fraser eventually paid off in August 2024 and Jeff Hendrick seeing out his full four year contract and leaving at the end of June 2024.

The pair of them only started 31 Premier League games between them for Newcastle United, Jeff Hendrick 18 and Ryan Fraser 13.

Jeff Hendrick talking to Boyle Sports about Newcastle United – 8 October 2025:

Jeff Hendrick on the Newcastle United midfield trio:

“Newcastle might have the best midfield in the Premier League. They’re robust, strong, and have a bit of nastiness to them.

“They’re all comfortable on the ball and can pop up with goals. But I just love how compact they are and how hard they work. As I said, they celebrate tackles and put in 40–50 yard bursts and runs to help their defence.

“I definitely agree that I don’t see another midfield three matching or surpassing them. There may be a similar midfield three, but it’s vital for Newcastle to keep them fit because they are so important to the club.”

Jeff Hendrick on Joelinton:

“I actually have a pal who’s a Newcastle fan.

“He was delighted when I signed for them, but when Joelinton joined he was saying he’s not good, this and that.

“I know the price tag was there and then getting the number nine jersey, but I’m nearly sure he wasn’t an out and out striker before he went to Newcastle.

“We were under a lot of pressure at the time. The club wasn’t in a good place. It was a little bit toxic. But after a week, my pal was like, saying he’s rubbish and this and that.

“I was like, he’s the best player here. He’s literally got everything. He’s like, no chance, no way. I said, honestly, he’s big, strong, quick, runs all day, brilliant on the ball. I said, he’s just not going to score you 20 goals a season.

“I’m sure it was just before Eddie Howe came in, or possibly when Howe came in, they started bringing him back. They played him in the 10, then sort of two eights, but he had the license to roam into the 10 position.

“I remember we played Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds and it was man for man. And then one of the tactics was, get the ball to Joelinton, because they won’t take the ball off him.

“He was that good. So to see him transition is crazy, but I don’t think he was an out and out striker. But it doesn’t surprise me at all because I think he’s brilliant and he looks so comfortable in there. With the other two lads, they all suit each other. They all have different roles as midfielders and he doesn’t look out of place at all.”

Jeff Hendrick on the Alexander Isak transfer:

“If his situation was a year earlier, I would have crossed paths with him in the bomb squad.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t. I was probably more surprised by how long it drew out publicly, two months.

“Who knows, before they broke up for summer, there was talk of stuff being guaranteed behind closed doors. It must have been the case for him to push it that much.

“I think it was always going to happen, even a month out. It was inevitable, there couldn’t be a U-turn. The fans weren’t happy. Then it was more Newcastle dragging it out, waiting to line up the player they wanted.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a little bit of tactics involved: ‘Let’s send him to Liverpool not fit. He won’t have had a proper pre-season. They’re going to have to get him fit. They’ve got a backlog of games.’

Jeff Hendrick on Nick Woltemade:

“I actually did a piece on Nick Woltemade last week, and I’m a really big fan of his.

“He’s six-foot-six, but he doesn’t play like a natural six-foot-six. It made me think back in my career if I’ve played with someone that big, maybe Peter Crouch towards the end.

“You have to think about it, you could be 15 yards away, and you’re thinking, ‘Do I chip it to his head instead of playing it on the ground to his feet?’

“But I think with Nick, he’ll bring a different style of play, and I think it will be healthy for them with the players they have. I watched midweek during the Champions League how comfortable he is coming into the pockets, nearly a number 10 space, and taking the ball.

“His first touch is nice, he’s bringing players into play, and it gives them the chance to let the wingers run beyond because everyone knows at Newcastle their wingers are so fast, so it does open up channels for them.

I think Newcastle will end up playing a little differently because Alexander Isak was more about dribbling, and we all know he scored goals, but I think Woltemade will score goals too, maybe a little differently, but he’s certainly capable of hitting double figures, and I hope he does.”

Jeff Hendrick on media rumours that Man U could try and get Eddie Howe if/when Ruben Amorim gets sacked:

“I would be so surprised if the Man Utd job came available and Eddie Howe took it. I think it’s a really, really tough job to take now. They’re kind of stuck. You look at Ruben Amorim coming in, and he had a good profile of what he’d done previously, but he looks disheartened.

“He looks disheartened even though he’s had a summer to get a couple of signings in. I think they’re better off maybe sticking with him for another transfer window, but who knows if they will.

“Touching on Eddie Howe, he’s got the run of the club at Newcastle now with how well he’s done. He’s able to bring in the players he wants, and let go of the players he doesn’t want.