Rafael Benitez’s Newcastle United project is going as expected, with the side placed at the summit of the league. After 31 games, they have picked up 66 points with a goal difference of 35 and have a slender lead of a point over second-placed Brighton & Hove Albion.
They are very much in the mix to earn a direct promotion, but the way they conclude the season would have a massive say in ensuring that. While some of their players have delivered, a handful of them are yet to meet their yardsticks. Here are 3 players who should up their ante for the remainder of the season to ensure their stronghold at the top.
Aleksandar Mitrovic
The case of Aleksandar Mitrovic at Newcastle United is a rather curious one: he is the Magpies’ top shirt seller but his antics on the field have been an intense point of criticism. The Serbian striker has all the ingredients in the making of a fantastic striker which any top quality side could fork out week in and week out, but despite possessing some traits so very special in him, he hasn’t delivered the way his employers must have desired.
Dwight Gayle has been Benitez’s go-to man up front and his absence lately left a massive void which Mitrovic failed to fill. With the former Anderlecht hitman’s days at St. James’ Park being severely numbered, the 22-year-old must step up big time for the remainder of the season, mainly as a super sub, considering that Gayle is back in the side.
In a total of 17 appearances, Mitrovic might have found the back of the net of 4 times apart from creating 3 more, but there is certainly more that he can offer in the business end of the season.
Ayoze Perez
Another star with quality running up and down his veins, Ayoze Perez hasn’t made pretty good use of those despite plying his trade in the second tier of English football. Having signed a long-term deal in January, the former Spanish U21 has been used in his preferred no. 10 role but hasn’t yielded huge dividends.
He still has the opportunity to prove the critics wrong by finishing the season strongly and helping the team in ensuring that they clinch the Sky Bet Championship and get automatically promoted back to the Premier League.
Chancel Mbemba
The Congo defender was out with his national side in the Africa Cup of Nations but despite that, he hasn’t been used much by the former Real Madrid gaffer. He showed last season that he is a top quality centre-back, being strong aerially, was quick, very reliable and is physically very strong. Newcastle United have, however, preferred to use the pair of Ciaran Clark and Jamaal Lascelles, but Mbemba is likely to get some chances in the upcoming games where he must deliver to carve a future at the club.
Statistics Credits: Squawka.
