Newcastle United were dealt something of a reality check on Monday night.
Indeed, Newcastle were caught cold upon their return from the international break as West Ham ran out relatively surprise 2-0 winners in the Premier League on Monday night.
It was the latest setback in a frustrating season for Eddie Howe. For all the good work he’s done and continues to do at Newcastle, consistency remains a huge issue.
Still, the Newcastle United manager does have the tools to turn things around. He’s been papering over the cracks of not having much money to spend this summer very well and, frankly, has some excellent players in his ranks.
While there are some obvious weak points, Newcastle do have some brilliant talent in their squad, there can be little doubt about that.
In fact, Theo Walcott compared one of them to a certain Gareth Bale.
Theo Walcott believes Newcastle have a player just like Gareth Bale
The former Southampton and Arsenal forward was speaking to Sky Sports before their coverage of the game.
Walcott played with Tino Livramento for the Saints in his second spell with the club, having done so with Bale during his first stint on the south coast.
Speaking of Livramento, Walcott suggested he saw similarities with Wales and Real Madrid legend Bale.
“It makes me smile when I see this guy play because his attitude was spot on,” he said.
“There were two particular players when I was at Southampton, [Romeo] Lavia and Livramento who moved on. I knew they would because they have that confidence and that work ethic and wanted to learn from other players around.
“He went through one of the biggest injuries you can in football with an ACL. To do that on your own – yes you have the staff – but that’s a difficult moment for any player, particularly a young player to come out of.
“He’s excelled and I wouldn’t really want to go up against him because physically I would say, I would compare him to a Gareth Bale type.”
Tino Livramento has overtaken a modern day Newcastle legend
Backed by Alan Shearer to replace Kieran Trippier in the starting lineup full-time, Livramento certainly looks the first choice these days.
Trippier’s form may have dropped over the last year or so but he’s a modern day Newcastle legend, such has been his impact since joining the club way back in January 2022. Replacing him is no mean feat.
The most exciting thing about Livramento is that he’s still developing. Quite whether he reaches Gareth Bale levels of success, however, is up for debate..
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
