HE’S Brazilian, and he only cost £40m. Of all the remarkable transformations that have occurred at Newcastle United in the last ten months, Joelinton justifying his club-record price tag has to be close to the top of the list.

Yet as he looks ahead to the new campaign in the wake of an impressive opening-day display against Nottingham Forest, Newcastle’s latest South American star isn’t just looking to continue his improvement at the heart of the Magpies midfield, he is also targeting a place in the Brazil squad for this autumn’s World Cup in Qatar. Having turned his career around on Tyneside, he is now hoping to sparkle on the international stage.

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“Of course, getting in the Brazil team is an ambition,” said Joelinton, whose only representative appearances for his country as a junior came at Under-17 level. “It’s a dream. I hope I can do it. My game is getting better and if I keep doing that, I hope it can be a reality. Although, I’ve not heard anything from Brazil yet.”

For the first two years of his Newcastle career, the prospect of Joelinton being courted by the Brazilian national team was about as likely as him being serenaded by the Gallowgate End. Derided as a £40m misfit as he struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League as a central striker, the 25-year-old looked destined to join a lengthy list of highly-touted Magpies signings who failed to live up to their billing in a black-and-white shirt.

His career might have continued to stall had Ciaran Clark not been sent off in a run-of-the-mill home game against Norwich City last December, but having been compelled to move Joelinton into a deep-lying central-midfield position, Eddie Howe looked on with a mixture of incredulity and admiration as the South American took to his new role like a duck to water.

Joelinton has not looked back since, revelling in his new responsibilities as a box-to-box central midfielder and playing a pivotal role in Newcastle’s dramatic improvement under Howe.

On Saturday, with Jonjo Shelvey unavailable because of injury, Howe could have been forgiven for feeling he had to leave either Joelinton or Joe Willock out of his starting line-up in order to go with a more defensively-minded option.

Instead, the Newcastle boss stuck to his guns, trusting that Joelinton, Willock and Bruno Guimaraes could combine in a central-midfield unit that was effective, both in and out of possession.

“We had to work on the midfield without Jonjo, with him being injured,” explained Howe. “We work very hard on all principles of our play, and the midfield dynamic without Jonjo is very different.”

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By the final whistle, Howe’s faith in Saturday’s starting midfield trio turned out to be more than justified, with Joelinton’s energetic pressing and effective use of the ball helping the Magpies claim their first opening-day win at St James’ Park since 2012.

“We try to press high,” said Joelinton, when asked to describe his role in Howe’s preferred tactical approach. “It’s what Eddie wants from us - home and away, we will press high to win the ball. We want to play with high intensity, to win the ball and show what we can do.”

Newcastle did that at the weekend, dominating possession, forcing Nottingham Forest’s midfielders and defenders onto the back foot and remaining patient as their opponents held out in the first half.

Fabian Schar’s long-range thunderbolt opened the scoring at the start of the second half, with Callum Wilson sealing the three points as he flicked home Joelinton’s cross with 12 minutes remaining.

The Brazilian set up Wilson’s goal by breaking into the left-hand side of the area and delivering a dangerous low ball across the face of the box, but while the 2-0 victory represented an ideal start to the new campaign, there is a determination not to get too carried away.

Saturday’s trip to a Brighton side basking in the glory of Sunday’s surprise 2-1 win at Old Trafford will provide a much sterner test of Newcastle’s current capabilities, with Howe and his players determined to keep their feet on the ground despite their strong form in the second half of last season and the mounting excitement and enthusiasm that is evident in and around St James’ Park.

“It was a very good start,” said Joelinton. “We got three points, it was a good game and we controlled the match. That was the level we want to get to - high energy, press high, we close teams down much better, we’re physically stronger. It’s just the first game though. We won well, but we just have to keep going and growing into the season."