Joselu had a rotten time up front for Newcastle, but he is now absolutely flying with Espanyol.
The Spaniard left St James’ Park in the summer of 2019, joining Alaves for just £2.5million. While he struggled in a Toon shirt, Joselu had no such issue on his return to Spain.
He spent three years in La Liga with Alaves, hitting double figures in each season. In the previous campaign he got got 14 goals, and earned himself an even bigger move.
The 32-year-old agreed a free transfer to Espanyol, and his career there has started in red hot fashion.
While his new club are currently 17th in the table after eight games, Joselu is one of La Liga’s top scorers.
Robert Lewandowski tops the charts, scoring nine league goals since his move to Barcelona. But he is closely followed by Joselu.
The former Magpie is joint-second in the charts with Borja Iglesias. They have both scored six goals so far this season. That’s more than Eddie Howe’s two main strikers have managed put together. Callum Wilson has got three, while Alexander Isak has got two.
Six in eight is a sensational tally from Joselu, especially when you consider how his St James’ Park career went.
Joselu really struggled at Newcastle
Joselu was signed by Rafa Benitez in the summer of 2017. He cost £5million from Stoke, joining a club that had just won promotion to the Premier League.
He scored on his home debut in a win against his West Ham, and that point he looked like a shrewd piece of business. However, that wasn’t how things panned out.
Joselu spent two seasons with Newcastle, and scored a grand total of seven goals in all competitions. Six of those strikes came in the Premier League; a tally he has already matched with Espanyol.
It would not be unfair to brand Joselu as a flop at Newcastle. He was the kind of signing that summed up the Mike Ashley era.
But those days are over, and Newcastle is a much happier place. Five years after spending £5million on Joselu, the club forked out a whopping £59million to sign Isak.
The Magpies are doing much better, and so is Joselu. He is enjoying a career renaissance in Spain, and long may it continue.
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