Newcastle Confidential Q&A: Anthony Elanga Injury Return Date, Centre-Back Transfer Plans and Matthias Jaissle’s Leeds “Naivety”

Newcastle’s bruising loss at Leeds has intensified scrutiny of Matthias Jaissle’s tactics and the balance of his squad.

What comes next for the team — and how concerned should supporters be?

In the latest Newcastle Confidential Q&A, CRAIG HOPE responds to questions about Anthony Elanga’s injury, Nico Gonzalez’s concussion and Joelinton’s recovery.

He also details Newcastle’s plans at centre back, explores why the midfield is being overrun and considers whether Jaissle has designed his system around a No 10 the squad does not truly possess…

Any news on Anthony Elanga’s injury?

Nothing can be confirmed yet, with another scan still to come, but information from Leeds suggests Elanga has suffered a muscle problem in the hamstring area. The injury is expected to keep him out for approximately six to eight weeks.

Those inside the club are understood to be concerned about the severity of the issue. However, the full prognosis will not be communicated until a further MRI scan has been completed, with those tests expected to take place this week.

Elanga is therefore facing a significant spell on the sidelines. Sources insist the injury is not related to his knee, despite speculation to the contrary.

Will Nico Gonzalez get the all-clear to play on Saturday? (Saeb Macafi)

No. A loophole can allow a player to return when they were removed only because of ‘suspected concussion’, but even in that situation the earliest possible clearance comes after seven days.

According to my sources, Newcastle are preparing for the weekend on the basis that Gonzalez will not be available.

What’s the situation with Big Joe? (Clare Bremmer)

Joelinton is recovering from a quad injury that is less serious than initially feared, with surgery not required.

Even so, assuming there are no setbacks, his absence will have reached two months by the time he is expected to return after the international break.

Away from the injury news, I’m told Bruno Guimaraes stayed overnight at Joelinton’s home after scoring against Sunderland at the weekend. I suspect, however, that their usual kickabout in the back garden had to be put on hold.

Could Will Osula be the answer on the right wing? (Bobby Martins)

Osula’s immediate priority is to regain full fitness. His foot injury is reportedly healing well, and he could be in contention for the trip to Coventry on October 12.

In theory, his excellent goal against Manchester United last season demonstrated the threat he can pose when cutting in from the right. However, Osula is a central striker who is at his best running off the shoulder of centre backs. It remains uncertain whether he is suited to the more disciplined demands of a wide role, including the need to contribute in both directions.

One of the reasons Jaissle doesn’t yet fancy Bazoumana Toure as a starter, I’m told, is his need to work on the defensive side of his game as a winger.

Why did we invest so much in midfielders but not in centre halves? I was pointing out all summer how vulnerable we were in that position with ageing and injury-prone players. Does Jaissle want to invest in a CB in January and how do we cope till then? (Shearer’s Slipper)

Centre backs were put to the club by agents early in the window and the likes of Fikayo Tomori were closely monitored. But once a new deal for Fabian Schar was agreed, the plan was always to stick with him, Sven Botman, Malick Thiaw and Dan Burn. Staff have also spoken about Amar Dedic being able to play in the middle.

The problem Newcastle had in this position, when it came to the summer market, was that they needed to trade one out to bring one in. Botman had not long signed a new contract; Burn is 34, club captain and settled, while Thiaw has been at the club only one season and is not a player they want to sell.

As for Jaissle, he will be assessing what he has and doesn’t have all of the time. But a club like Newcastle, in an SCR world, can’t really afford to carry more than four senior centre backs.

The longer-term plan is to replace Schar, 34, next summer with a centre back in the 21-to-24 age profile. However, the performance of the other three this season – especially if they struggle – could see more drastic change in an area of the pitch in which, I agree, Newcastle suddenly look vulnerable.

Do you think the team were prepared correctly for the Leeds game? It felt like there was a failure in the overall game plan, but more worryingly in the basic preparation of patterns, marking and motivation (Sean Brown)

Well, I’ve heard nothing to suggest they weren’t prepared (under some former managers I was often told that they weren’t!) and all of the noise around Jaissle has been positive. But what played out in front of us at Elland Road did look void of the elements you mention.

One word that has been put to me by those close to the club in recent days is ‘naive’. That in the sense of Newcastle playing a 4-2-4, in effect, against a Leeds side who crowd the middle of the park. 

Such naivety is, of course, all part of the learning curve for a new manager in a new country.

But the first half on Monday night was as bad a 45 minutes as I can remember post-takeover – and that was simply because of the absence of the basic application you would expect when it comes to tackling, marking and running. 

That should be a concern because, as Jaissle said, those are the ‘non-negotiables’.

Do we still need a top No 9, rather than a 10? (John Keith)

I would argue they still need both! But the bigger issue is the No 10, especially if Jaissle continues to use one. Because, for me, he does not have a No 10!

Yoane Wissa is a No 9 and does not have the qualities a player in the deeper position needs – that is not his fault, it’s just not him. 

Joe Willock can do a job there, but it’s not his position. The same for Jacob Ramsey. Matias Fernandez-Pardo has told the club he wants to play centre forward.

So, there you go – a team built around a No 10 when it doesn’t really have one. They need someone who can act as an extension of the midfield, who can control the tempo of a game and open doors. At present, the players used are out-of-position runners.

Wissa can have a good season, I really believe that, but only as a central striker.

Eddie Howe got it in the neck about not being tactically flexible, so we have to be consistent with Jaissle – why is he sacrificing his midfield to play Wissa as a 10? Wissa is a striker and we’re being overwhelmed in midfield. Every opponent will run and pass through us just like with Howe (Pablo Hopez)

Is Jaissle tactically flexible enough to accept we are light in midfield and need extra bodies? Ruben Amorim made that mistake at Man Utd (Geoff Adamson)

Is Jaissle dead set on having only two in midfield after we have had two Premier League games in a row now and been completely overrun? (Smithy)

Jaissle’s preferred system is 4-2-3-1, for sure – he has told us that. But only he can answer the questions you pose with his team selection. 

As you all say, there is an issue in midfield that needs to be addressed. I flagged it before the trip to Leeds and my suspicion of them being overrun played out.

The problem Jaissle has this weekend against Hull is that Gonzalez, Joelinton and Ramsey are all likely to be missing. Maybe a three of Lewis Miley, Sean Steur and Joe Willock would be the best bet for this game. To go with two in midfield would perhaps lay a blueprint for Hull to exploit.

Right now, Miley and Steur between them don’t have the physicality needed for a Premier League midfield pairing. Miley, in mitigation, looks like he needs a good run of games to build fitness, rhythm and confidence.

Do you think we will be relegated based on what you have seen so far? (Daniel Hickey)

No. But I did say at the start of the season that a repeat of 12th would probably represent a decent campaign based on how the summer played out, even though they salvaged the window with some good business towards the end.

I know the ambition internally is European football, and after a few games there was optimism in that regard, but my realistic take has always been that this year will likely be a bottom-half finish.

What is the highest finish the club would still consider a disaster this season? (Kizza)

Well, the hierarchy have labelled 12th a ‘disappointing end’ to last season, and they say that within the context of each position lost or gained equating to £2.6million in prize money.

So, to answer the question, I’d say anything below 12th would be disappointing for them. A ‘disaster’ would be relegation.

How do they expect to meet this 2030 target (of being the best in the world) if they are routinely selling our best players and stubbornly holding on to the likes of Murphy/Willock when we get perfectly good offers for them? (Capitao39)

It’s a question a lot of supporters are asking re the non-sales of Jacob Murphy and Willock. In defence of Murphy, Jaissle really wanted to keep him and I understand why. He values his leadership in a young dressing room. 

Also, the final £15m offer from Nottingham Forest landed on deadline day, so it was too late to replace him. The original offer of around £10m did come a week or so earlier.

As for Willock, I agree with your point. The club could have negotiated his sale sooner in the window and reinvested. Saying that, Willock has started the season well and will probably emerge as an important player in the coming weeks. He’s got the legs that others haven’t.

The club also felt the turnover of players was already very high and were conscious of having some continuity and stability.

As for where all of this leaves Vision 2030… I’m on the record in saying that, while I admire the ambition, I’m not sure it is deliverable in four years. I believe the hierarchy are well-intended, competent and will push as hard as they can, but I don’t see a club (on the pitch or off it) that feels on the coattails of the top six at present.