Former Newcastle United defender Warren Barton has admitted that he’s always ‘liked’ current right-back DeAndre Yedlin and he believes his style of play is exactly what Newcastle fans want to see at St James’ Park.
25-year-old Yedlin joined the club from Tottenham Hotspur back in late August 2016 and he’s gone on to make 63 starting appearances and ten substitute showings in the season’s since – he’s even popped up with two goals, one which came against Manchester City earlier this season.
Speaking to the Coming Home Newcastle podcast recently, Barton did qualify his comments by explaining that Yedlin still has some development to do, especially his final ball and delivery, but he backs him to do just that in the years to come.
“He is growing up now and is getting more experience but I think he needs to work on his delivery because sometimes his mind is working as quick as his legs when he gets in the final third. But he is very well thought of at the club, people like him and he knows he is privileged to play for a club like Newcastle. They want you to be aggressive going forward and score goals and I think his style of play suits the fans. Like everybody, there’s areas he needs to work on but I like him.”
If he can iron out the flaws in his game and show further improvement that will undoubtedly see more fans warm to him, but age is on his side and many fans believe he more than has the basics.
It’s just about refining that now and a lot of that will naturally come with greater game time and experience.