HE wanted more of a selection headache when it came to his attackers – now, as he prepares to select his side for this weekend’s Premier League game at Bournemouth, Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez finds himself toying with a range of different options in the final third.
For the majority of the season, Joselu has played as a lone striker, but Dwight Gayle impressed in the Magpies’ most recent outing against Manchester United and will be determined to line up again at the Vitality Stadium.
Might the pair play alongside each other on the south coast? Or having pushed so hard for the recruitment of a new forward during the January window, will Benitez feel compelled to start loanee Islam Slimani now the Algerian is approaching full fitness?
Ayoze Perez is also in the mix, having performed creditably as a central striker in the New Year’s Day win at Stoke City, so who should Benitez choose as he looks to enhance his side’s goalscoring threat in four days’ time?
JOSELU
The Spaniard might not be everybody’s cup of tea given his lack of goalscoring success throughout his career, but Benitez clearly values his work rate and ability to retain possession with his back to goal.
If Benitez sticks with the 4-2-3-1 formation he has fielded for the vast majority of the season, Joselu’s attributes fit in quite well. The 27-year-old is a willing runner, and tends to link play quite effectively with those playing behind him.
He offers an aerial threat from set-pieces, but his goalscoring record leaves a lot to be desired. He has scored four goals in 25 appearances this season, and managed just four goals in 27 outings during his season at Stoke.
He has rarely looked like a natural finisher, and with Newcastle having failed to score more than one goal in ten of their last 11 Premier League matches, can the Magpies afford to keep relying on a player who has struggled to score?
Goal threat 6
Finishing ability 5
Work rate 8
Fitness 8
Total 27
DWIGHT GAYLE
He rampaged his way through the Championship last season, but Gayle has found the step up to the Premier League quite a test. In recent weeks, though, there have been signs that he is gradually finding his feet.
Benitez’s biggest criticism of the 27-year-old appears to be that he does not suit a system that needs the lone centre-forward to become an auxiliary midfielder when Newcastle do not have the ball.
Gayle has never been an especially selfless worker, and while he linked play reasonably well against Manchester United, he can often end up isolated if Newcastle do not have much of the ball away from home.
That said, however, he remains a proven finisher who has scored at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge this season. If a chance comes his way, more often than not Gayle puts it in the net.
Goal threat 7
Finishing ability 8
Work rate 6
Fitness 7
Total 28
ISLAM SLIMANI
They left it late in the day, but Newcastle finally landed a new striker when Slimani arrived on loan from Leicester City on the final day of last month’s transfer window. The Algerian might not have hit the heights that were expected of him at the King Power Stadium, but he still boasts a proven goalscoring pedigree.
He made his name at Sporting Lisbon, scoring 48 goals in 82 league appearances as his blend of pace and power made him all but unplayable in the Portuguese league.
That earned him a £29m move to Leicester, but he managed just eight goals in a season-and-a-half in the East Midlands. He boasts a strong all-round profile though, with his technical ability and finishing prowess complementing a physical presence.
The state of his fitness is the biggest unknown, as a thigh injury means he has not started a league game since New Year’s Day. He is due to return to full training before the end of the week, but might it still be a risk to start him on Saturday?
Goal threat 8
Finishing ability 7
Work rate 7
Fitness 5
Total 27
AYOZE PEREZ
Perez has spent the vast majority of his time at Newcastle playing in midfield, but he impressed as a central striker in the win at Stoke and could yet emerge as a viable attacking option in the final two-and-a-half months of the season.
His goalscoring record over the course of his Newcastle career is reasonably good – 24 goals from 90 league starts and a further 41 substitute appearances – and he has scored important goals this season against Southampton and Stoke.
He is not the most polished of finishers though, and while his work rate can never be questioned, he can often be brushed off the ball too easily when he plays up front.
If Perez was to start centrally, Benitez would surely have to switch formation to play with two players up front, and he has been reluctant to play in a 4-4-2, describing the formation as a ‘short blanket’ which leaves a gap at one end of the pitch or the other.
Goal threat 5
Finishing ability 5
Work rate 8
Fitness 8
Total 26
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