“What he is giving them” – BBC pundit urges Bruce to axe flop for “dangerous” NUFC star

BBC Sport pundit Noel Whelan has urged Steve Bruce to axe Joelinton and play Allan Saint-Maximin centrally when Newcastle United visit Crystal Palace this Saturday.

Whelan has been left questioning what Joelinton has to offer the Magpies after the Brazilian extended his Premier League goal drought to 23 games with a mystifying performance against Arsenal on Sunday.

The 23-year-old’s only strike in the English top-flight to date came on the third week of the campaign away to Tottenham Hotspur, and has since proven to be a relative flop having failed to break the goal line despite recording four shots against Bournemouth, three against Norwich, Aston Villa and Brighton and two in six other appearances.

Saint-Maximin, meanwhile, has often looked like a handful following his £20million summer switch and was in with a shout of being named as the Man of the Match at the Emirates Stadium despite the disheartening result.

He tormented Gunners right-back Hector Bellerin and was an outright joy to watch on the left-wing on Sunday, and was unfortunate not to find the back of Bernd Leno’s net when his brilliant curling shot crashed back off the far post after a dazzling run in the 75th-minute.

Whelan has now suggested that Bruce ought to consider fielding Saint-Maximin through the centre this weekend away to Palace, as he would be certain to offer more of a threat at Selhurst Park than Joelinton.

“Saint-Maximin is the one that looks the most dangerous in that side,” Whelan told Football Insider. “You need to take Joelinton out of there and bang him through the middle – hurt people with his pace.

“Something a little bit different, because I look at Joelinton and I am not sure what he is giving them. What is he going to provide that is going to get them further up the table? I cannot see him hitting 20 goals a season.

“They need a hungry player with desire. You need to be busting your gut to get into the box and he was not.”

Joelinton was far from a willing runner into the box on Sunday, as the Brazilian only recorded three touches inside the Gunners’ penalty area whilst taking the majority of his 47 touches near to the halfway line.

Whether Saint-Maximin would be the answer Bruce should be looking for remains to be seen, though the Frenchman did feature at striker 17 times for OGC Nice last season and produced 66% of his six goals and 40% of his five assists in all competitions when fielded through the centre.

Bruce will need to weigh up the pros and cons of moving Saint-Maximin into the middle quickly with a trip to Crystal Palace coming up on Saturday, and the need to replace the 22-year-old on the wing if the boss were to drop Joelinton.

The Brazilian may be an option for Bruce to field on the left, given his vast number of touches there on Saturday and that he featured on the wing against Burnley in December.

Other options for Bruce to mull over would likely include Christian Atsu, who has no goals and three assists this league term, or Matt Ritchie, who has started two of his four top-flight appearances since returning from injury last month.

In other Newcastle United news, Bruce has met with a 22-cap man keen to join in a permanent deal but did not discuss any potential transfer.