Elanga Injury Offers Fernandez-Pardo Chance to Avoid Being a Newcastle Flop

· GiveMeSport

Newcastle United could use one problem to solve another after Anthony Elanga suffered an injury.

There may be an ideal solution for Matías Fernandez-Pardo as he looks to prove himself at new club Newcastle United . The Magpies are still reeling from Monday's night's 4-1 stuffing at the hands of Leeds United , and there has been more bad news since.

Matthias Jaissle, who was unfortunate enough to take over a Newcastle squad that had been stripped of its best talent this summer, has now lost another major talent in Anthony Elanga, who will require a scan to discover the extent of the injury setback he has suffered.

Jaissle said this week: "With Anthony Elanga, it's obvious that he struggles with an injury. We need to further investigate how serious it is. But at the moment it doesn't look that good. It could be long term. He will get another MRI next week and we will see."

That doesn't sound good for Newcastle, but one problem could be the solution to another problem.

Jacob Murphy can deputise on the right, but at 31 years of age, he doesn't have the speed or technical ability to be starting there week-in, week-out, but another possible option is to try summer signing Fernandez-Pardo, who has failed to convince up top so far, as Newcastle reporter Charlie Bennett has highlighted.

Fernandez-Pardo has experience of playing on both wings, and you wonder whether Jaissle will now look to solve the right-wing problem by trying him there. That would likely mean Yoane Wissa starts in the centre-forward role, where he is comfortable, while William Osula is also an option when he returns from his foot injury.

Fernandez-Pardo stats vs Leeds

With Fernandez-Pardo, who cost Newcastle over £50million, struggling to get to grips with how Jaissle has his team plays, he may well be best served playing in a position where he can get on the ball and display his technical ability.

That could lead to questions over why the Magpies spent so much on a striker who didn't fit their system, and they will be valid. Fernandez-Pardo may well turn out to be an excellent signing, but given the experience and talent Newcastle lost this summer, they could certainly have done with signing a player who was ready to plug and play in the Premier League, especially for such a high fee.

The Magpies are not in a position to be taking chances on young talents. That is always part of the equation, especially amid Financial Fair Play constraints, but it is best done when a club is already succeeding with more experienced players.

Read the original

People in this story

Related