Premier League Icon Alan Shearer gives his verdict on Newcastle's dilemmatic wing issue

Newcastle United have got a brilliant start to their new Premier League campaign. Having managed 10 points of the possible 12 from the four fixtures so far, Howe's side has now made their way up to the 3rd position of the PL Table. While it could have been said that Newcastle's performance hadn't been brilliant so far, the club's comeback victory against Wolves felt like a much-relieving sight for the Magpies fans.

However, looking on the other side of the story, the fixture posed a much more dilemmatic problem for manager Howe, which now can't be overlooked. In their recent outing against the Wolves, even though the lineup was creating chances, it certainly looked like they lacked control over their attack.

PL Icon Alan Shearer gives his verdict on Newcastle's dilemmatic issue

The closest chance of the first half came from Gordon's solo run, which ultimately ended as a shot coming off the post. However, three substitutions from Eddie Howe early in the second half changed the game on its head for Newcastle United. The most significant of them all, Harvey Barnes, scored a goal in the 80th minute, sealing the win for the Magpies club.

Until now, with Newcastle having played five fixtures this season, the club's wing star Harvey Barnes has stood as one of the best performers. Despite not starting each fixture, the 26-year-old with three goal contributions has been instrumental for the club's attack force. However, that's where the problem lies; despite having brilliant displays, Barnes isn't starting, being a conventional left winger, in which star Anthony Gordon starts.

In the game against the Wolves, Howe had to shift Gordon to the middle, allowing Barnes on the left, and the results are evidently visible. But on the other side of the situation, Gordon had a cold second half, looking almost puzzled about what to do in his unconventional center-forward position. Thus, it has created a dilemmatic situation for Howe to align his front three.

Recently, club icon Alan Shearer addressed the two talents, Barnes and Gordon, saying,

"“Barnes and Gordon both want to play on that left-hand side and cut in on that right, and they’re both very good at doing that.""

- Alan Shearer

However, in a possible solution to this situation in which Eddie Howe finds himself, Shearer prefers to keep both Barnes and Gordon in the starting role, with the former starting on the left. Shearer remarked,

"“But probably Gordon on the right and then Barnes on the left-hand side and Isak down the middle. I mean, that’s a really, really good front three.""

- Alan Shearer

As per the current scenario, this possibility might be the most favorable one for the Magpies club, considering the red-hot form Barnes is in. As Alan Shearer mentioned, this could be a really brilliant setup considering the options the club currently enjoys. Now, it remains to be seen how Howe considers this possibility as the Magpies club faces Fulham in an away fixture.