It is fair to say that Newcastle United have to deal with a lot of change this summer, most notably being the change in manager after Eddie Howe decided to move on from his role.
Matthias Jaissle came in to replace the English head coach and secured a point on his Premier League debut after a 2-2 draw with Liverpool at St. James’ Park on Sunday.
The Magpies also lost two of their key figures in the middle of the park during the summer transfer window, as Sandro Tonali joined Tottenham Hotspur for £100m and Bruno Guimaraes signed for Arsenal for £85m.
One of the players brought in to bolster the club’s options in midfield was Sean Steur, who signed from Ajax for £23m, and he made his competitive bow against Liverpool.
Assessing Sean Steur’s Newcastle debut against Liverpool
The 18-year-old talent was trusted to start at the base of the midfield alongside Lewis Miley in what was an incredibly young Magpies team, and he showed his inexperience at times.
Whilst Steur is clearly a technical talent, as you would expect of a young player coming out of Ajax’s academy, the physical side of his game needs plenty of work.
The Dutchman did not offer enough to the team off the ball to keep Liverpool at bay, and it was his slowness to react to a situation that allowed Cody Gakpo the room to take the ball and fire into the bottom corner from distance.
|
Vs Liverpool |
Sean Steur |
|---|---|
|
Minutes |
56 |
|
Pass accuracy |
76% |
|
Pass accuracy in opposition half |
33% |
|
Dribbles |
0 |
|
Key passes |
0 |
|
Tackles |
0 |
|
Interceptions |
0 |
|
Clearances |
0 |
|
Ground duels won |
0 |
|
Aerial duels won |
0 |
Steur played almost an hour without registering a single tackle, interception, block, clearance, or duel won for the Magpies in the middle of the park, which illustrates how little he offered from a defensive perspective.
A more defensively-minded player, or a more experienced player, may have sensed the danger and been quicker to close down Gakpo, preventing that goal, and that is why the £23m-rated star may still need more time to adapt to the Premier League.
His lack of physicality and experience showed on the opening day of the season, which may be why the club are still in the market to add another player in his position.
The Toon are closing in on a move for Manchester City’s Nico Gonzalez with a fee of around £50m now agreed. However, he doesn’t look as though he’ll be the only midfielder to arrive at St James’ Park between now and next Monday.
Indeed, according to TEAMtalk, Newcastle United are one of a number of clubs interested in a deal to sign Marc Casado from Barcelona before the end of the summer transfer window.
The report claims that there has been contact between the Magpies and the Spanish giants to discuss the central midfielder’s availability this summer, whilst Aston Villa, Sunderland, Nottingham Forest, and Brighton & Hove Albion are in the same boat.
It adds that the LaLiga side are prepared to allow him to explore a move away from the Nou Camp before September’s deadline, whilst reports earlier this summer suggested that it would take a fee of around £34m to secure his services.
The Magpies should now press ahead and pay the money required to strike an agreement with Barcelona because the 22-year-old talent would arrive at St. James’ Park as an instant upgrade on Steur.
Newcastle need midfielders who can deal with the physicality and the intensity of the Premier League in the here and now to deliver right away, and Casado fits the bill.
|
Marc Casado (LaLiga) |
24/25 |
25/26 |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
23 |
24 |
|
Starts |
20 |
10 |
|
Assists |
3 |
1 |
|
Pass accuracy |
90% |
91% |
|
Tackles + interceptions per 90 |
3.68 |
2.29 |
|
Ball recoveries per 90 |
5.01 |
3.76 |
|
Duel success rate |
53% |
50% |
In the last two LaLiga seasons, the Spanish midfield maestro has held his own in physical duels with opposition players and averaged at least two tackles and interceptions per 90 across both campaigns.
Meanwhile, Steur lost 100% of his duels and failed to make a single tackle or interception in the draw with Liverpool, as he looked short of the physicality required to be effective out of possession in the English top-flight.
Like the Dutchman, Casado came through an academy famed for creating technically brilliant footballers, La Masia, and he boasts the technical qualities that you would expect from him, completing 91% of his passes in LaLiga last term.
The 22-year-old talent may not have done enough to start over the likes of Frenkie De Jong and Pedri week-in-week-out, but he still showed that he could step in and do a job when required, offering quality on and off the ball in midfield.
He has played 75 times for Barcelona’s first-team and would arrive with a decent amount of experience at the top level, having won LaLiga twice in his career, whilst Steur made his debut in a major European league on Sunday.
Signing Casado would provide Jaissle with an instant upgrade on the Dutchman, due to the physical and technical qualities that he can offer, and would allow Steur to play a back-up role this season, before emerging as a regular starter in the future.