How Yoan Gouffran has made himself indispensable to Newcastle United

Yoan Gouffran has become an unexpected cornerstone of Newcastle United so far this season.

A summer of upheaval within the club has seen a major clear out of a lot of the main offenders responsible for last season’s dismal relegation – prominent names being Moussa Sissoko, Georginio Wijnaldum, Papiss Cisse and Steven Taylor among others.

One player heavily tipped to follow the aforementioned names through the exit at St. James’ was Gouffran. The former French youth international forward-turned wide-man was much maligned by the Newcastle faithful in prior seasons to the disastrous 2015/16 campaign.

Never seen as a mainstay in the starting line-up for Premier League fixtures since his £500k move from Bordeaux in the January window of 2013, ‘Gouff’ would become somewhat of a scapegoat to fans.

Guilt by association to the club’s failed ‘French Revolution’, Gouffran found himself facing a departure from St. James’ at the beginning of pre-season as Rafa Benitez looked to completely remodel and rebuild the squad to push for an instant return to the Premier League.

You would be hard pressed to find even the most supportive Toon fan upset at the departure of the player.

However, fast forward to this point in time, and this current Magpies team would suffer massively without the presence of the 30 year-old winger.

Gouffran found himself in and out of pre-season games, however one thing remained consistent – his hard work and commitment to the cause remained and he was seemingly reignited.

Fine pre-season performances culminated in a fantastic goal in the away victory over Southend United. As players around him were heading for other clubs, Gouffran was increasingly likely to stay.

It wasn’t until the third league game of the season that Yoan Gouffran came back into the fold after two successive league defeats for the Magpies, and helped the team to a much-needed 3 points at home to Reading F.C.

Gouffan showing fantastic workrate and protection to his full-back as well as an attacking flair that saw him at one point nutmeg his marker before cracking off a long-range bullet that unluckily hit the crossbar.

Offering both an attacking threat, supported by three goals thus far, and an appetite to defend and support the men behind him, the Frenchman has become one of the first names on Benitez’s team sheet.

Of his three goals in the season so far, two of them have been of the utmost quality. They were both outstanding volleys versus Derby County and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the EFL Cup.

One thing is for certain, whomever lines up immediately behind Gouffran in the left-back position feels a whole lot more comfortable heading forward on a marauding run down the wing with himin the team, knowing that he will always be willing to fill in any empty spaces and help double-up on dangerous wingers.

Gouffran offers more in terms of complete footballing ability than the other wingers at the club. Christian Atsu and Rolando Aarons, particularly on the left of midfield offer fantastic attributes when going forward, but there is no substitute for tactical awareness and all-round game as demonstrated by the Frenchman.

Newcastle United Training Session /

Gouffran has featured in 10 of Newcastle’s 13 games played so far this season in all competitions, never losing when the former Bordeaux man has played.

He was omitted from the matchday squad for Newcastle’s first two defeats of the season. Possessing an above average rating of 7.30 – provided by WhoScored.com – Gouffran has shown a remarkable turnaround in form for a player who has come back from the brink.

"Newcastle Record Featuring Yoan Gouffran (10 Games) W-W-W-W-W-W-W-D-W-W"

A leading player in the promotion push, appreciated by his team-mates and slowly winning back the affection of the fans, the Frenchman is the testament of hard work, resilience and a good measure of the quality of coach now in charge in Benitez.

With Gouffran now in the final year of his contract, approaching the wily age of 31 in footballing terms, the management at Newcastle find themselves with a dilemma with the player able to discuss the possibility of a free transfer in January.

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Would you present Yoan Gouffran with an extension of his contract at Newcastle United? If not, why? Let us know in the comments!