Matthias Jaissle admits he’s been wowed by composure of “amazing” Newcastle youngster
Newcastle travel to Leeds on Monday night looking to keep up a promising start to the season, one that has followed a summer of major change at St James’ Park.
Matthias Jaissle oversaw a significant overhaul of his squad before the campaign got underway, and the early signs are that the rebuild is paying off.
|
Player |
Nationality |
Previous Club |
Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Nico Gonzalez |
Spain |
Man City |
£52m |
|
Matias Fernandez-Pardo |
Belgium |
LOSC Lille |
£51m |
|
Bazoumana Toure |
Cote d’Ivoire |
Hoffenheim |
£42m |
|
Aladji Bamba |
France |
Monaco |
£34m |
|
Amar Dedic |
Bosnia |
Benfica |
£29.5m |
|
Lukas Hornicek |
Czechia |
Braga |
£25.7m |
|
Ewen Jaouen |
France |
Stade Reims |
£24m |
|
Sean Steur |
Netherlands |
Ajax |
£23m |
|
Ousmane Diabaté |
Guinea |
Gençlerbirliği |
£3m |
Newcastle have already taken points off Liverpool and Tottenham before a hard-fought draw with Bournemouth that showed their resilience after a poor first half display, and Jaissle has been pleased with how his new-look side have adapted so quickly.
“There are many, many strengths in place. Not only the fundamentals, what is needed in football if you bring them on the pitch, but also aspects clearly highlighted for our DNA, for our way of playing,” he said before the trip to Elland Road. “How we already scored goals with clear patterns, with counter-attacks that were already on a high level.
“But there’s also a way to improve. You know that we are eager to improve, and especially to create more chances. That’s one topic we’re talking at the moment about. Now we’ve already managed to have clean sheets. Also, that’s an important factor to win games. It’s a process, we know where to adjust things, but it needs to be done step by step, especially when you don’t have too much time to train.”
One new arrival in particular has caught Jaissle’s eye. Goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek was one of Newcastle’s more understated pieces of summer business, but he has quickly made himself indispensable between the posts, and his manager could not hide his admiration when asked about the youngster’s start to life in the Premier League.
“An amazing job so far. Amazing signing, a young lad as well and not easy coming into the Premier League and performing already on a high level and dealing with the pressure. As a keeper it is something else as well. So we are really pleased and we hope can continue to progress in the same way.
“I like him a lot as he’s so calm but so mature as well. He gives the whole team this confidence having someone between the posts with that confidence and showing it also. There’s not even a sign of nervousness, so that helps a lot.”
It is a glowing assessment for a goalkeeper still adapting to a new country, a new league and the weight of expectation that comes with the Newcastle shirt, but one that suggests Jaissle sees him as a long-term fixture rather than a stopgap.
Elsewhere, Jaissle also gave an update on Tino Livramento, who made his first appearance of the season for 45 minutes in the Carabao Cup at Millwall as he continues his recovery from a long-term injury.
“I’m happy for him that he got now 45 minutes on a high level against a strong opponent in difficult circumstances playing there in Millwall. That makes us proud to see him already on a high level, it’s never easy coming back from a long-term injury then performing already mature whilst physically already on a good level,” said Jaissle.
“I’m also satisfied and happy that he was dealing with the 45 minutes really good, he responded well. It means also our performance department did an excellent job.”
With Hornicek marshalling the defence and Livramento closing in on a return, Newcastle look to be building good momentum heading into a clash with a similarly confident Leeds side.
