Eddie Howe names surprise leader at Newcastle United

Newcastle United have made quite the turnaround since the turn of the year. Arguably, the biggest reason for that is the signings that The Magpies pulled off in January. Most of them have come in and made their presence felt at St James’ Park. As a result, the club have been one of the most in-form teams in all of Europe this year and a top ten Premier League finish is not out of question.

That would have been unthinkable a few months back when Newcastle United appeared to be headed for the drop. And Eddie Howe deserves a lot of credit for the job that he has done since coming in.

The players who have come in in January have been so effective, not only because of their qualities on the pitch, but also because of the fact that they are leaders.

Interestingly, Howe has named another leader at Newcastle United, who has been at the club for a long time now, even though he has barely played this season. That man is none other than Dwight Gayle. As reported by The Shields Gazette, the manager said about him:

"“He’s someone I respect greatly. He’s a real leader of the group behind the scenes. His training performances every day have been of the highest level, his professionalism has been of the highest level.”"

Howe names Gayle as a leader at Newcastle United

Most fans have already heard of the incredible performances that Gayle has been putting in in training. But unfortunately for him, that has not translated into performances on the pitch.

According to stats from Transfermarkt, Gayle has only made 6 appearances and played 103 minutes of football across all competitions this season for Newcastle United.

If he continues to put in the performances in training though, one has to feel that sooner or later, his chance will come. He will be have to be ready to take it though. It must be pointed out that there have always been questions about his ability to find the back of the net consistently at the Premier League level.