Why Newcastle’s new Guimaraes must start ahead of Joelinton

The Newcastle United persuasion don’t expect their side to win every week, but they need to start playing with more conviction, confidence and coherence in the Premier League.

When Matthias Jaissle stepped in at the start of August to replace Eddie Howe in the dugout on Tyneside, he would have known the odds were stacked against him. Bruno Guimaraes was prepped to complete his big-money move to Arsenal, and Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon had already jumped ship after the great decline of 2025/26.

The trip to Crystal Palace at lunchtime on Sunday could swing in any number of ways, but here are the facts: the Magpies have lost three of their last four Premier League matches, and meekly at that.

Something needs to change after last weekend’s limp loss against Aston Villa. Jaissle’s midfield was overrun, and there’s a case to be made that Joelinton needs to be dropped right away

Why Joelinton must be dropped at Selhurst Park

Joelinton might be Newcastle’s new vice-captain now that Howe’s top lieutenants have all gone, but that doesn’t mean he automatically qualifies for a starting berth each week.

Sidelined through injury over the first phase of the campaign, he started at St. James’ Park last time out, but failed to impress after picking up an early booking. He was crisp on the ball, but failed to make a single tackle and lost eight of 12 contested duels.

Joelinton is a stalwart, undoubtedly one of the biggest success stories in modern times on Tyneside. Ridiculed as a flop of a centre-forward, he has been remodelled into a robust box-to-box midfielder, winning silverware and forming a wonderful partnership with Guimaraes and Tonali in recent years.

But the 30-year-old slipped from those former standards last year, and his recent injuries have knocked him down another peg. To be sure, he still has a part to play this season, but Nico Gonzalez might benefit from a more cultured partner against a Crystal Palace side who were picked apart by ruthless Brighton.

Joelinton might boast a fair amount of strength, but if he’s not producing the polished, dynamic performances needed to instil control, what’s the point?

After all, Jaissle has the perfect replacement waiting in the wings.

Why Newcastle’s next Guimaraes will be livid if Joelinton starts ahead of him

When meeting Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon, Newcastle can ill-afford another tough day at the office, only two points ahead of Coventry City on the edge of the relegation zone.

No doubt, Newcastle need to bring physicality with them to Selhurst Park, but in Sean Steur, they have an elegant and influential midfielder who has not been handed a chance since dazzling during the 2-1 win over Hull City at St. James’ Park.

Steur, 18 years old, joined Newcastle from Ajax in a £23m deal this summer. At the time, Howe was still at the helm. A budding maestro of a midfielder, the Netherlands U21 star has not

While Jaissle sees Gonzalez and Steur as similar breeds of midfielder, there’s nothing to suggest the duo couldn’t operate in tandem. The 6 foot 2 talent has a natural combativeness and roundedness in the middle of the park which suggests he could become the club’s next version of Guimaraes.

Guimaraes left Newcastle for Arsenal this summer, but he has left quite the legacy behind him, a consummate captain who has established himself as one of the best midfielders in the world. The 28-year-old was there from the get-go, arriving from Lyon for £40m in January 2022.

Steur, now, has the chance to start making an emphatic impact at the start of the Jaissle era. He could potentially be the catalyst for positive change, having shown what he can do across 66 minutes against Hull, winning both his tackles and three duels, also creating two chances and completing 89% of his passes on the afternoon.

He has sat as an unused substitute throughout Newcastle’s previous two outings, both losses, and there’s no question that the young midfielder, cut from the same cloth as the world-class Guimaraes, could be the difference-maker going forward, bringing a technical skillset which far outstrips that of Joelinton, who is yet to prove he should start every week for the Toon this season.

There’s no doubt that Steur will be livid if, yet again, he is consigned to the sidelines instead of earning the chance to build on his early-season form, not only a glittering technician, but someone who plays with a combative edge, someone who could combine with Gonzalez and add a much-needed dimension in the middle of the Magpies park.

Steur is the real deal. Sure, he’s young, but we’ve already seen the influence he can produce in the centre of the park in the Premier League.

Let’s hope Jaissle sees reason and unleashes Newcastle’s next Guimaraes.