Opinion: £5.4m-rated NUFC man can force Bruce into huge U-turn after plans to sell

Christian Atsu can use the pause in Premier League football to force Steve Bruce into a dramatic U-turn over his Newcastle United future.

Bruce had looked to sell Atsu late in the January window but to no avail, with the forward turning down a Deadline Day move to Celtic in favour of staying at St. James’ Park and fighting for his place in the side.

But the 28-year-old has struggled to earn any minutes on the field since the winter market slammed shut, with Bruce only turning to Atsu for 18 minutes in the FA Cup in total.

The boss even omitted Atsu from his matchday squad for our last three league fixtures before the coronavirus pandemic brought a halt to the campaign, and it would be no surprise to see the 60-cap forward hit the chopping block again in the summer market.

Atsu had started just six of our Premier League fixtures before snubbing a Deadline Day move to Celtic, with most of those opening roles coming in the early weeks of the campaign against Tottenham, Watford, Liverpool, Brighton and Leicester.

The Foxes clash gave Bruce plenty of reasons why Atsu had to be dropped having disappeared in the second half, but the former Chelsea man can use the postponement of fixtures to give the boss food for thought for when play eventually resumes.

Some players, more so than others, will be lacking match fitness when the Premier League announce that games will be recommencing, and Atsu must use this as his chance to break back into Bruce’s plans.

The £5.4million-rated winger remains our most productive player this season with five assists across all competitions, and Bruce will need someone to create clear goalscoring opportunities having seen the side go five top-flight fixtures with just one goal to show for our efforts.

We only missed the one big chance as we drew 0-0 with Norwich City last month, too, while spurning two at Arsenal, none at Crystal Palace and none at home to Burnley in toothless displays.

Atsu may have struggled for playing time in 2020, but the chance is still there for the 28-year-old to save his Toon career before the next transfer window rolls around.

In other Newcastle United news, the club have been backed to reject the chance to sign a €10m man this summer.