Christian Atsu was handed a rare start for Newcastle on Wednesday night, in a performance which both impressed and disappointed in equal measure.
The Ghanaian international played the full 90 minutes against Everton at Goodison Park, after a suspension kept fellow winger Matt Ritchie out of the starting line-up.
Atsu has made seven appearances from the bench this season, and had also made one previous start against Leicester.
He was fairly anonymous in that display, and the midfielder also struggled off the bench against West Ham.
He arguably gave his strongest showing yet against Everton, but Newcastle supporters are split on his effectiveness in the side. Despite working incredibly hard and looking a constant threat, two missed chances late on blighted his overall display.
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Newcastle fans’ divided opinion on Atsu performance
Should Atsu replace Ritchie?
Although Ritchie is likely to regain his spot against Wolves, The Ghanaian gave a good account of himself on Wednesday.
Of the two chances missed by Atsu in the dying stages, both fell to his weaker right foot.
Although the second was a poor finish, his first effort was actually phenomenally saved by Jordan Pickford who was incredibly alert to the strike.
But despite those misses, he impressed in other areas.
Against Everton, he made more tackles than Mo Diame (three) and had one less passing accuracy percentile than Ki Sung-yueng (86%).
The winger worked incredibly hard in defence, and supporters wont be disappointed at his series of tactical fouls towards the end of the game.
But although he can match Ritchie’s work rate, and better him for pace and shots at goal, the winger lacked crossing ability.
Ritchie’s crossing is easily the best in the side, and without him the team lacks a creative touch in the final third.
The Scotsman will be favourite to start versus Wolves, but Atsu’s Everton performance should merit him another few minutes as a substitute.
