A history of how Eddie Howe reinvented Joelinton at Newcastle United – scout report

After making a dismal start to his Newcastle United career and being branded a flop by fans and pundits alike, nobody would have predicted that Joelinton would go on to become Player of the Season for 2021/22 – won previously by the likes of Kevin Keegan, Andrew Cole, Peter Beardsley, Paul Gascoigne, and Alan Shearer. One eventful night at St James’ Park saw him move from his usual position as a striker to starring in his new role in central midfield, where he has played ever since.

Bought from Hoffenheim in the summer of 2019 for a then club record of £40m, Joelinton, only 22 at the time, was seen as the ideal replacement for Salomon Rondon – even given the iconic number 9 shirt – and looked to be the answer to Newcastle’s striker problems. At the time, Newcastle only had the slight and stuttering Yoshinori Muto, Championship-standard Dwight Gayle and Andy Carroll as competition for Joelinton, but after several appearances without scoring and his confidence clearly diminishing game by game, he looked like the latest of a long list of poor signings during the Mike Ashley era. In this scout report, we will use tactical analysis to look at how he changed from a failing forward to a midfield maestro for the Magpies.

Newcastle strikers tend to score on their debut – Les Ferdinand, Papiss Cisse, Alexander Isak, even Xisco and Fabrice Pancrate – but nobody questioned Joelinton’s goal drought until after a handful of appearances. At first, many Newcastle fans were quick to jump to Joelinton’s defence by pointing out his success at Hoffenheim was due to him being used as an inside forward or number 10. Making space for teammates, joining in the second wave of attacks, and linking play was where Joelinton made his name.

At the age of 19, Joelinton secured a two-year loan to Austrias Rapid Wien. Described by their sporting director, Andreas Muller, as a ‘powerful, athletic player, who, in the mould of a traditional striker, should bring plenty of menace in front of goal,’ Joelinton was used as exactly that: an advanced centre-forward. Over two seasons, he scored 15 goals in 41 league appearances for the Austrian Bundesliga side.

On his return to Hoffenheim and the much tougher German Bundesliga, Joelinton was instead used in a strike partnership alongside Ishak Belfodil or Andrej Kramaric. Depending on the formation, he was deployed as an inside forward when playing with three up front, or even as an attacking midfielder under then head coach Julian Nagelsmann. At Hoffenheim, Joelinton played as a lone striker only once.

So, how effective was he upon his return to Hoffenheim? In his only full season for the first team, Joelinton had a hand in 42% of goals in games he played, with 7 goals and 5 assists in 28 appearances.  Dubbed a replacement for former Hoffenheim graduate Roberto Firmino, he was snapped up by Newcastle at the end of the 2018/19 season.

Lineups

Despite often adapting formations and tactics depending on the opponent, Nagelsmann always used a high pressing style of play, which suited Joelinton’s aggressive and physical approach. He would often hold the ball up, knock on, and create space for the other strikers and overlapping wing backs to run into. This was a style of play totally alien to what Bruce employed at Newcastle.