Former England international Kevin Phillips fears Newcastle United repeating the error of signing Joelinton if the Toon chase Club Brugge’s Emmanuel Dennis.
Joelinton became the club’s record signing last summer when owner Mike Ashley gave the green light to a £40million deal for the Brazilian, who had scored 11 goals in 36 first-team fixtures for Bundesliga outfit TSG Hoffenheim.
But the 23-year-old has struggled to find his feet in the Premier League, with Joelinton only finding the back of the net once in 25 outings having opened his account on matchday three of the season as we beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0.
He has taken to the FA Cup far better with two goals in four games, but the now 22-game league drought is something that Phillips is adamant Toon staff must avoid if we chase another centre-forward in the summer.
Recent reports have suggested Club Brugge’s two-time Nigeria international Dennis is being considered ahead of a potential summer swoop, with Newcastle among a clutch of sides scouting the 22-year-old valued at €25m (£21m).
Phillips, though, is not yet convinced that a move for Dennis would be the best decision the club could make at the close of the current campaign, but questions whether we will have any alternatives.
“I’m not going to tell Steve Bruce how to do his business, and they certainly wouldn’t go for a player that they haven’t done their homework on now that Steve is in charge,” Phillips told Football Insider. “They wouldn’t do it if they didn’t think that he could do a job in the Premier League.
Would you sign Dennis for €25m in the summer?
Yes
No
“Of course, it’s not worked for Joelinton at the moment, it’s taking time for him to settle in. Certainly from Newcastle’s point of view, you don’t want to be in that situation again.
“You want somebody who has got experience of the Premier League. It would be a gamble again, in my opinion. The thing is, if you look closer to home, it’s difficult to find that striker that’s at the age that you want without having to spend stupid money, so a lot of these clubs do look abroad to get a better deal.
“I do think it would be a gamble, and if it doesn’t come off then you put yourself under pressure again.”
Dennis is hardly setting the world alight in Belgium, having scored eight times this season over 30 appearances in all competitions, though recorded two of those with a brace away to Real Madrid in the Champions League Group Stage.
It would be very unlikely that Bruce sees him as our next high-scoring centre-forward, either, as only 12 of Dennis’ outings have come as the designated striker in manager Philippe Clement’s plans at the Jan Breydel Stadium this term.
We will need a proven, out-and-out striker in the summer if Joelinton cannot start to find the back of the net regularly, it will just be a question of whether or not Head of Recruitment Steve Nickson can find one that the club can afford.
In other Newcastle United news, a £20m midfielder’s agent has confirmed his client would consider joining the Magpies this summer.