Newcastle United desperately need this trio back in the squad

After the loss to Crystal Palace, it is even more clear that Newcastle United need these three players back from injury as soon as possible.

Newcastle United suffered a second consecutive loss over the weekend when Crystal Palace defeated the Magpies at Selhurst Park. Overall, the NUFC performance was underwhelming and part of that was based on poor form or tactics by Steve Bruce, but it is also due to the players that he doesn’t have available. While Dwight Gayle and Yoshinori Muto returned from injury last week, Newcastle is in dire need of getting Andy Carroll, Javier Manquillo, and Jonjo Shelvey back in the squad.

Each position one of those players plays had a bad day at the office vs. Palace. Joelinton was a non-factor as the striker and Allan Saint-Maximin also swapped into that role at times during the match. The central midfield duo of Nabil Bentaleb and Sean Longstaff misfired on shots and passes, while also giving away possession with the ball at their feet. Valentino Lazaro was decent on the day, but he received a straight red card for a late foul.

Jonjo Shelvey and Javier Manquillo have both been crucial this season. Shelvey still has three more goals than anyone else on the team and he’s able to change the game from the midfield. Manquillo has been the most improved player on the roster and his defensive ability combined with his crossing are sorely missed with either Lazaro or DeAndre Yedlin at right wing-back. For Carroll, he’s not a player that can start every match up top, but his experience and ability to give Joelinton a spell on the bench is much-needed. Also, in 14 less EPL matches, Carroll has one more assist than the Brazilian striker and only one less goal.

As the Magpies try to secure their safety in the Premier League and string together some victories, Steve Bruce is definitely eager to get back this crucial trio.