John Terry thinks Eddie Howe has signed someone who is ‘made’ for Newcastle United

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John Terry has shared high praise for one Newcastle United player who showed his quality in the Champions League against Barcelona.

It was not the dream night that fans were hoping for, but still a valiant performance despite the result.

Newcastle United were beaten 2-1 by Barcelona in their first of eight games in the Champions League’s league phase, with Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford scoring twice at St James’ Park.

While Eddie Howe’s side did not secure the win, Anthony Gordon can take some pride in the fact that he found the back of the net for the first time in 22 games. It has been a strange few months for the 24-year-old, who has been sent off more times than he has scored, but hopefully the goal against Barcelona will get him back where he needs to be.

Elsewhere, Anthony Elanga had a bright game for Newcastle, causing problems for Barca’s backline throughout the first half. His performances got the attention of Chelsea legend John Terry, who was very complimentary of the Sweden international.

John Terry says Anthony Elanga is the perfect signing for Newcastle United

Elanga appeared to struggle in his first couple of appearances for Newcastle, failing to register any goal contributions against the likes of Aston Villa and Liverpool.

The 23-year-old was then dropped back to the bench by Howe, who opted to start Jacob Murphy in his place. However, Elanga was thrown back into the starting XI on Thursday to inject a bit of pace into the Magpies’ attack.

It turned out to be a great plan, as Elanga was given the freedom to run at defenders and work the ball into the box. He was unlucky not to get his first assist of the season when Gordon mistimed an effort early on and Harvey Barnes’ effort was saved well by Joan Garcia.

Elanga was taken off just after the hour mark, much to the disappointment of the Newcastle fans, who shared their displeasure on social media.

During the game, former Premier League footballer John Terry posted high praise for Elanga on his Instagram story.

“Elanga is rapid and made for this Newcastle team,” he said.

Anthony Elanga must build from his performance against Barcelona

The start of the season was tough for multiple reasons. Alexander Isak was on strike, leaving Gordon to play as a striker when he is naturally a left-winger, and it was clear that scoring goals were going to be a struggle.

It was the same case on Thursday night, with Newcastle having a greater expected goals ratio than Barcelona, despite scoring just once. For Elanga, he can take a lot of positives from that performance, which could be considered the game he arrived on Tyneside.

With Nick Woltemade at the club and already playing, Elanga has a natural striker to aim at, one who should be able to finish the chances that will be given to him. The hope now is that Elanga can kick on from his showing to prove that the £55m they spent on him was worth it.

Of course, he still has a lot of time to develop and become more acclimatised to Howe’s style of play, which is admittedly very different to what he is used to. However, the sooner he gets up to speed the better.