Ki and Muto leave Newcastle at the worst possible time

With the Asian Cup starting in January, Ki Sung-yueng and Yoshinori Muto are leaving Newcastle United at the worst possible time.

January will be a difficult month for Rafa Benitez and Newcastle United for two reasons. Newcastle will have a rigorous schedule that includes the entire top six between the end of December and the first week in February. To make matters worse, the Magpies will be without Ki Sung-yueng and Yoshinori Muto during this time period as they have been called up by their national teams, South Korea and Japan, to play in the Asian Cup.

These two departures have created a major dilemma for Benitez as he will lack much-needed quality and depth in midfield. The Spaniard will now have to think of how he will replace Ki in central midfield and determine who will serve as the back-up to Ayoze Perez.

Hayden to replace Ki?

As painful as it is to think about, it looks like the only direct replacement for Ki in central midfield is Isaac Hayden. With Jonjo Shelvey sidelined with what seems to be a long-term injury since the match against Watford, Hayden is the only traditional defensive midfielder who can play alongside Mohamed Diame.

Hayden made it clear that he wants to leave Newcastle to be closer to his family and his lack of passion for the club was noted with his red card against Cardiff City in the second match of the season. Hopefully he has matured as a footballer to understand that the club needs him to perform more than ever with Ki leaving for one month. Hayden is a decent replacement, but, like Diame, he is not a good passer and he will force the wingers to put in extra work.

Thanks for Nothing, Muto

While Ki’s absence will be felt in a major way, Muto’s absence does nothing except for brew frustration. Muto has only scored one goal in 11 appearances for Newcastle, then he was sidelined with an injury and then he left the club for family matters back in Japan. Now that he is healthy and returned to the club, he is leaving once again to join the Japan national team.

Muto still has so much to prove, primarily that our most expensive summer signing can play in the Premier League and score some goals. Aside from one solid performance against Manchester United, Muto has not done much for the Magpies. With a tough string of matches coming up, and with Perez being so on and off with his form, Benitez was hoping to utilize the Japanese frontman to get some positive results. It is unfortunate to say, but Muto’s situation is resembling that of Islam Slimani when he was on Tyneside.