Ki Sung-yueng has departed Tyneside for South Korea and Rafa Benitez must fill that void in midfield for Newcastle United.
Ki Sung-yueng has said his farewell to Newcastle United after the 0-0 draw with Fulham as he departed for South Korea to join his national team ahead of the Asian Cup 2019. Ki was a top player for Newcastle ever since he took over in central midfield for an injured Jonjo Shelvey and his absence will surely be felt.
The South Korean international plays with composure, spreads the ball around with accuracy and creates big chances for the players ahead of him with through-balls and long crosses. If Shelvey was fully recovered this article would never exist, but the fact that Isaac Hayden is Ki’s back-up makes me worry.
Starting with the match against Liverpool, Rafa Benitez should not stick to the traditional rules of the game. The Spaniard should move some players around and my suggestion is to play Matt Ritchie alongside Mohamed Diame and put Kenedy back on the wing opposite of Christian Atsu.
Why Not Hayden?
Before I begin explaining why Ritchie makes the most sense to play alongside Diame until Shelvey or Ki return, let me begin by explaining why starting Hayden during a difficult stretch of matches would be a horrible idea.
Hayden boasts a decent amount of pace, I will give him that, but he is not a facilitator and he is far from being an offensive threat. The reason why the Shelvey-Diame and Ki-Diame duos work so well is because Shelvey and Ki like to move forward and get involved in the attack while Diame stays back to prepare for a potential counter-attack.
With Hayden in the middle next to Diame, Newcastle would have horrible ball movement and would simply serve as a bunker in midfield taking hits from the opposition and hoping no damage is done. In other words, Newcastle’s offensive efficiency would be significantly hindered due to poor distribution and the Magpies’ best bet would be to play defensive football and settle for a point.
Ritchie Alongside Diame
To some of you, this idea is absolutely crazy, but I hope some of you are giving this idea a chance because it could work. Like Diame, Ritchie is an aggressive player who hustles the entire game and his work ethic would enable him to help Diame recover the ball and build an attack immediately.
Moreover, Ritchie has quick feet, is a superior dribbler and one of the best passers on the team. Newcastle need a central midfielder who can spread the ball around, but also be involved in the attack and Ritchie would bring those skills to the table. Moreover, Newcastle have plenty of quality on the wings with Christian Atsu and Kenedy. This depth on the wings allows Benitez to shift Ritchie over to the middle.
With Shelvey still out and Hayden being too defensive, Benitez needs to think of an alternative who can create plays for others. That being said, I firmly believe that Ritchie can handle that role well and his skills would help ameliorate Ki’s month-long absence.