‘He has so much ability’; Howe raves over Newcastle star proving doubters wrong

Manager Eddie Howe hailed the display of Joelinton in Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Norwich and outlined just how important he is to the Newcastle cause.

Joelinton, 25, bagged a brace at Carrow Road as the Magpies ran out comfortable winners. The Brazilian opened the scoring on 35 minutes and added a second just six minutes later. Bruno Guimaraes put the icing on the cake with a third just four minutes after the break as the north-east outfit moved up to ninth.

It had the potential to be a tough afternoon for the Tynesiders with the Canaries fighting for survival. And Howe praised the way his charges kept their cool to finally dominate proceedings and get the job done.

“It is an important win for our standards and what we expect of one another,” he told BBC Sport. “We knew it would be a difficult game today and the start was.

“It wasn’t until we scored the first goal that we got control of it. Credit to the players again. They have incredible desire to go an win football matches at the moment and there is confidence running through the team. Really pleased.”

And the former Bournemouth chief felt the victory was indicative of how far the club has come.

“It is a lot of hard work, great team spirit and unity,” he added. “Quality on the pitch as well. But it is a lot of factors from top to bottom of the club. Our supporters have played a big role too.”

Newcastle have now won four Premier League games in a row. The St James’ Park outfit have won 10 and drawn two since the turn of the year.

Any thoughts of relegation are now very much in the rear-view mirror. The side’s improvement has seen Joelinton show his true colours.

And, from a figure of fun under Steve Bruce, he has become integral to the team. The former 1899 Hoffenheim