Louis Saha has been impressed with Newcastle’s midfield this season
Newcastle forward Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon have been hogging the headlines of late but Louis Saha believes Eddie Howe’s midfield should be getting more credit.
The Magpies have surged up the Premier League table in recent weeks and have one foot in the final of the Carabao Cup after Tuesday night’s 2-0 semi-final first leg win over Arsenal.
Isak and Gordon were on target again but it was the Newcastle midfield that really caught the eye, even in the absence of the suspended Bruno Guimaraes.
Howe’s decision to deploy Bruno Tonali at the base of a three-man engine room which also usually includes Bruno and agent of chaos Joelinton has coincided with a dramatic upturn in results.
‘Newcastle have the strongest midfield in the league,’ former Newcastle striker Saha told Paddy Power.
‘They have power, creativity, confidence and aggression – it’s all there. Joelinton is an ex-striker now playing in midfield, so he can create the space and transition quickly, and Bruno Guimaraes’s technical ability is amazing.
‘Sandro Tonali has a very classy defensive style – I love this complimentary midfield.
Joelinton has turned into an excellent central midfielder
‘When you have them combined with wingers and a striker that can operate with ease, other teams are in danger.
‘Sometimes they have made some silly mistakes at the back which is why they aren’t higher up in the league table, but they’ve been persistent – it’s good to see.
‘The Premier League is exciting this season because there are so many teams like this – in a few weeks, we could be talking about Aston Villa or Brighton like this.
Sandro Tonali is starting to look like an excellent signing for Newcastle
‘There are a lot of exciting teams this season. The Premier League has perhaps copied Pep Guardiola’s tactical style, which is annoying as it causes too much similar rhythm.
‘What would make it better is to have different styles, like Arsenal back in the day against Manchester United – they had completely different styles.
“It’s nice to see Newcastle out there creating their own style with their aggressiveness and composure.
‘Having Alexander Isak up front as well is brilliant – he’s a terrific player.’
