Former Leeds former and now pundit Noel Whelan has backed Newcastle United to sign Danny Rose in the summer over Jetro Willems.
The ex-professional has been speaking to Football Insider, and he thinks that he would like to build a defence with Danny Rose situated on the left of it.
Both players have joined the Magpies on a loan this season, with Rose coming through the door as a consequence of Willems picking up a nasty cruciate ligament injury which required surgery.
Before the injury came against Chelsea in mid-January, Willems had been one of the club’s star players. In fact, despite only playing 19 out of the 29 games this season, he still has the second-highest amount of goal contributions in the whole side with four– two goals and two assists – with only Jonjo Shelvey’s five goals topping that.
Nevertheless, Whelan thinks the sensible choice would still be to purchase Rose over Willems, who only managed six appearances for the club so far, with no goals or assist.
The pundit told Football Insider: “For Willems, it depends on whether the season can be finished and if he can get back fit and finish the season strongly.
“That is what a lot of players are worried about – like Jean Kevin-Augustin at Leeds. It is a crucial time for a lot of loan players to find out where if they are going to get a permanent deal.
“If it was a choice between Willems and Rose I think they would go for Danny Rose. He fits the bill a bit better, he knows the Premier League inside out. He still has a lot to prove and if you can keep him fit he is box-to-box. We have seen that he has got the energy and desire.
“It is harder for a foreign player to come here and adapt. I think Steve Bruce will want to build a backline with Rose in it.”
Even with Willems having a great season before he got injured, you can still very much understand why Rose might be fancied over him.
For starters, the Englishman is far more experienced than Willems in the Premier League, having racked up 188 Premier League appearances to his name, as well as having started in a Champions League final last year.
Furthermore, Steve Bruce has clearly been hugely impressed by the way he has handled himself since coming to the club, stating that he is a really great “thinker” in the dressing room.
At 29, Rose might only have a few seasons at the top left in him, but the expertise he has gained after being at Spurs during such a successful spell is likely to extremely beneficial to this Newcastle squad.