The likely return of Sean Longstaff to the Newcastle side at Leicester has largely gone under the radar, as most of the hype has been around Allan Saint-Maximin’s potential recall.
As exciting as the French winger starting is, Longstaff being back, as reported in the Sunderland Echo, is going to have a big say in where the points end up on Sunday.
It is not unfair to say the local midfielder has struggled to emulate his superb form of last season, which is hopefully just part of him finding his legs again following his injury.
But he needs to rediscover the performance levels that had him earmarked for the senior England squad, sooner rather than later.
Jonjo Shelvey has been dreadful in recent weeks, and his lack of form could bring an end to his Newcastle career, with him not making the most of any of the chances offered to him.
In the formation Steve Bruce prefers, using three centre-backs, it is essential that we have a midfield that is competitive and is not overrun, which is exactly what has happened in the last few games.
Isaac Hayden has done well, but he cannot do it all by himself, and he needs the support of those around him to help out more.
Shelvey has not been able to do that, and with Newcastle usually just having the two genuine midfielders in there, they simply cannot afford to carry any dead weight.
So if, as expected, Longstaff is restored to the starting XI at Leicester, he must prove he is back to his best.
If Longstaff finds his form Schar can stay at centre-back
There were rumours of a change to the system, and even talk of Fabian Schar moving into a holding midfield role, but should Longstaff and Hayden be on top of their games, there should not be any need to make such a radical move.
Longstaff will undoubtedly fully regain his form, but Bruce’s problem is, with the games coming up, he does not have time to let that be a gradual process.
A point at Leicester would be a great result, and with what suddenly looks like a winnable home game against Manchester United to follow, he needs to have all his players firing on all cylinders.
He will hope that Longstaff will do just that, starting on Sunday.
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