Alan Shearer gives his honest opinion on Joelinton

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Alan Shearer has given his verdict on Newcastle forward Joelinton in an interview with former England teammate Gary Neville.

In a piece for Neville’s YouTube channel, the Overlap, Shearer was asked about Newcastle’s recruitment structure and what the new owners will change.

Shearer used the example of Joelinton to underline his point and actually said he feels sorry for the man who was signed for £40 million from Hoffenheim in July 2019 under Steve Bruce.

“I hope the new owners will have picked up in terms of the money which has been spent – nowhere near enough but when they’ve gone out… you try and work out £40 million for Joelinton,” said Shearer.

“How do you work that out? I actually feel sorry for Joelinton at times because he was given the number nine shirt, asked to play centre-forward and score goals.

“None of that is his fault. That’s not his position. I can never criticise his work rate in terms of what he tries to do.

“He always tries, he never hides away – he’s just not a goalscorer. He’s not a number nine, a centre-forward but that is what he was asked to do. That is one deal I’ve never been able to look at and explain. Not many people can do.”

Shearer’s opinion of Newcastle number nines – which Joelinton was but no longer it having given his shirt to Callum Wilson – carries a lot of weight.

It is tough to argue too much with his analysis of Joelinton and it is important that the club avoid the same errors they made when signing the Brazilian.

Simply having a huge budget does not make a team better; it is all about how it is spent and that is the challenge going forward.

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