Jamie O’Hara thinks only two Tottenham Hotspur players would get into Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United starting XI right now.
The Magpies recently beat Antonio Conte’s side 2-1 away from home, in what was Newcastle’s best win of the season so far.
They followed it up with a 4-0 drubbing of Aston Villa on Saturday, solidifying themselves in the top four. In fact, Howe’s side could have been as high as third had it not been for Spurs’ comeback win over Bournemouth.
But Newcastle are playing very well at the moment, with plenty of players enjoying rich veins of form. The likes of Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes excel every week, while we have seen huge rises from the likes of Sean Longstaff and Miguel Almiron.
Howe’s men are performing brilliantly and putting the rest of the Premier League on notice. And pundit O’Hara has made a big claim about Newcastle in comparison to Spurs.
O’Hara thinks two Spurs players would get in Newcastle’s starting XI
The former Tottenham midfielder has appeared on TalkSPORT, and discussed Newcastle’s recent upturn in fortunes alongside host Laura Woods and ex-Rangers striker Ally McCoist.
“We keep saying is it too early for them to get in the top four? They’re a problem,” O’Hara said.
“I mean look at Liverpool. They’re absolutely having one.
“I look at the side – Joelinton, Callum Wilson, Saint-Maximin, Bruno Guimaraes. They’ve got a better team than Tottenham.
“If you look at the XI, apart from Kane and Son, I’d rather have Newcastle’s team.”
Shockingly hard to argue with O’Hara
While it sounds crazy, O’Hara probably isn’t wrong.
Newcastle have the best defence in the division, so you’d take all of them over Conte’s entire backline. Especially in goal, Nick Pope is much more reliable than Hugo Lloris as we saw last week.
The only argument you could make is for one of Tottenham’s midfielders to get in. Rodrigo Bentancur would probably get into the Newcastle team – the former Juventus ace is having a very impressive season so far.
Then you come to the two Spurs players who O’Hara thinks would get in Howe’s side – Harry Kane and Son Heung Min. While Newcastle’s attack has really improved lately, those two would absolutely get in the Toon starting XI.
They are a world class duo. Just imagine them alongside the in-form Miguel Almiron…
It’s crazy to think Newcastle are suddenly being seen to have a better team than Tottenham. They finished in the top four last season, while the Magpies were fighting relegation for most of the campaign. And a lot of those players are now considered better than what Conte has got.
What a time to be a Newcastle United fan!
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