How Eddie Howe revived £40 million failing Toon star's club career?

Since the infamous Saudi takeover happened in November 2021, a new era began at Newcastle United. With the owners being ready to revamp the club's entire work system, they brought in manager Howe, who has been one of the best in business since his appointment. Although Newcastle is still to reach the ultimate goal of becoming the best club in football, they have made significant progress towards it.

How Eddie Howe revived £40 million failing Toon star's club career?

So far in Eddie Howe's job at Newcastle, the English manager has led them to a Wembley FA Cup Final, securing Champions League qualification in the 2022/23 season apart from establishing them as a much more stable PL side. However, one of his best contributions has been to help the Toon players get to their best levels. Recently, on the Adopted Geordies Podcast, Howe shared a tale of how he developed the £40 million failing Toon star into one of the best physical midfielders.

Since completing a move to the Tyneside Club in 2019, Joelinton's career hasn't been going the way they had expected. Even though he had arrived as a forward, completing a hefty £40M from Hoffenheim, he had poor numbers upfront, which had been a crucial reason for the Magpies' underwhelming performances till then. However, it all changed as Eddie Howe's viewing opportunity in the Brazilian turned him from a failing forward to one of the best central midfielders.

Expressing his first-day training session observations and the positional change he executed on Joelinton, Howe mentioned,

"“From day one in the first training session, Joe was excellent. Then it was a case of I really believe in this player; he’s showing us in training that he’s very technically gifted and really strong. Then we stumble across a positional change that elevated his confidence levels.""

- Eddie Howe

It all came in a fixture against Norwich, where an early red card for center-back Ciaran Clark forced Howe to change his tactics. As a result, Joelinton, who had started in the forward role alongside veteran Callum Wilson, had to drop back, and Howe had a central midfielder ready for the future. Manager Howe, recounting the anecdote, mentioned,

""Ciaran ended up getting sent off. We went to a 4-3-2. Through needs, he played in midfield in this game, and he was everything that he is now. He was everywhere; he covered every blade of grass; he was outstanding.""

- Eddie Howe

From that day onwards, Joelinton has gone on to become one of the best PL versatile midfielders. Be it playing deep in the midfield or assisting on either flank, the Brazilian ace's position has gone on to change his career forever. This season as well, Joelinton has found his way after some mediocre performances, and Newcastle fans would hope the player continues the same way in the season ahead.