Could Steve Bruce actually start this Newcastle ace at striker?

Yesterday was Newcastle United’s first match of Callum Wilson’s lengthy absence. With the star striker out with a hamstring injury for a few months, Steve Bruce elected to give Dwight Gayle the start up top.

The results were not positive as Gayle struggled to make an impact in the 2-0 loss to Chelsea and was actually behind Allan Saint-Maximin, Joe Willock, and Miguel Almiron as far as average position.

While the three healthy strikers of Gayle, Andy Carroll, and Joelinton are the likely options to fill in for Wilson, could Bruce actually make a shocking decision and start someone else at striker?

The Newcastle manager has been vocal about wanting Saint-Maximin and Ryan Fraser on the pitch together. In this scenario, you could have both players start opposite one another on the wing. Then, instead of a traditional striker, Almiron could be plugged into that spot in the middle of the attack.

With an unmatched work rate, Almiron does his best work in the middle of the pitch rather than on the wing and obviously has the pace to get behind the backline. With ASM and Fraser outside of Miggy, that attacking trio would be able to thrive dribbling the ball forward on a counter attack and they could interchange to help set one another up or get their own shot.

Obviously, this would be a bold tactical change, which is not something that Bruce is known for. It’s tough to score in the Premier League without a true target man in the middle, but to be fair, it’s been hard for Newcastle United to score much without Wilson anyway. With the club’s safety in the top flight in jeopardy, this could be the tactical change that turns things around.