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This Newcastle United summer signing needs to be benched

By Carson A Merk

Newcastle United's Irish midfielder Jeff Hendrick. / (Photo by LINDSEY PARNABY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Newcastle United's Irish midfielder Jeff Hendrick. / (Photo by LINDSEY PARNABY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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After an exciting debut for the club, this new arrival has struggled for Newcastle United.

While Newcastle United weren’t able to add a ton of depth, they were lauded for spending good money in the summer window. Like Ryan Fraser, the Magpies were able to sign Jeff Hendrick on a free transfer following the 2019-20 campaign.

In the opening match 2-0 win for Newcastle, Hendrick was able to provide the second goal and assisted on the other. It was a dream debut for the former Burnley man. But, since then, things haven’t been good for the 28-year-old. He’s started in all six Premier League matches and was plugged in on the right wing in a few of them.

Obviously, it’s not his fault for being deployed out of position. But, his impact from out wide was non-existent. Against Wolves, he returned to the central midfield with Isaac Hayden and Jonjo Shelvey out. But, his performance was dismal again.

He isn’t accurate enough with his passing or strong enough in his defending. While Shelvey brings that elite distribution and Hayden’s a workhorse defensively, Hendrick is not great at anything. He’s a decent overall midfielder and shouldn’t be a lock for the starting lineup every week as he has been.

Next. The right call for NUFC to negotiate a new deal with this player. dark

While Steve Bruce had limited healthy options in the midfield today, Hendrick should be placed squarely on the bench behind Hayden and Shelvey and none of us want to see him on the wing again. Despite his clear admiration for him, Bruce needs to allow Hendrick to be a utility substitute for the foreseeable future when Newcastle needs another body in the middle of the park.