Eddie Howe played Joelinton in the centre of midfield when Newcastle took on Liverpool at Anfield last night.
The Magpies lost 3-1 but the performance overall was decent and the players recovered well from the loss at Leicester.
On TalkSport, pundit Martin Keown said that playing the Brazilian in midfield ahead of more natural midfielders in Joe Willock and Sean Longstaff might have been ‘damning’ for the Englishmen.
“There were one or two decisions he made with his selection, just looking through the team,” said Keown.
“I thought Joelinton playing central midfield was a bit damning for some of those midfielders; Longstaff sitting on the bench, Willock sitting on the bench.
“They play in that position, they are recognised in that position, and they were chosen above them.”
Joelinton was forced to fill in in midfield when Newcastle went down to ten men in the 1-1 draw with Norwich earlier this month.
He performed so well that some Newcastle fans on Twitter called for him to remain in the engine room at that time.
Howe’s decision last night was likely based on the fact that Joelinton has been one of the better players since his arrival, and it is about finding his best role in the team.
Keown has experience of being inside dressing rooms and will know how players react to seeing someone played out of position ahead of them, but based on recent performances, Willock cannot complain too much about not getting in ahead of Joelinton.
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