Eddie Howe ‘delighted’ with impact £35m Newcastle player made vs Fulham

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Eddie Howe has revealed that he was very pleased with the impact of one Newcastle United player after making his return against Fulham yesterday.

Sven Botman was brought off the bench by Howe for the last 10 minutes with Newcastle already 3-0 up and the three points secured.

In an interview with BBC Newcastle, Howe claimed he was delighted to see Botman make his return from injury and was pleased with his performance in the little time he had on the pitch.

Botman’s return was a huge boost for Newcastle

Although he didn’t play a huge role in the win over Fulham, you could feel the positive energy around the stadium when Howe brought Botman on to a standing ovation.

When he did get on the ball, you can see that Newcastle have been missing that confidence at the back and the ability to break through opposition lines in recent games.

It wasn’t all positives, though, as Botman’s centre-back partner Fabian Schar was substituted with an injury in the first half, so fingers crossed that is not too serious.

Howe is now hoping that he can keep the £35m signing fit and healthy ahead of what is still a very busy schedule for Newcastle despite being dumped out of Europe earlier in the week.

In his interview, Howe said: “It’s early days for him but he’s such a big player for us. You can see when he came on the impact he had. His injury was a delicate one but we’re delighted he’s back and fingers crossed he can stay back.”

Botman’s fitness could be key decider for the Magpies season

There are lots of things that are still hanging in the balance at Newcastle and Howe will be hoping that he can finally get some good luck with injuries in the new year.

Botman has been out of the side for the last three months and his availability will be a massive deciding factor in whether or not Newcastle and Howe have a successful season this year.

Of course, it’s not all about one player and we’ve seen that Newcastle can cope without the Dutch centre-back so far this season, but what he brings to the team is so much more than just great defending and it would be a massive blow if he doesn’t keep fit in 2024.