Barnes shines, Joelinton flops: Newcastle’s winners and losers from draw vs Tottenham
Newcastle United came from behind to earn a draw in Sunday’s friendly against Tottenham Hotspur in Seoul.
Against the backdrop of consecutive defeats to Celtic, Arsenal and the K-League All Stars, and the ongoing Alexander Isak transfer saga, Eddie Howe was in desperate need of a good performance.
Things didn’t start well, with Brennan Johnson giving Spurs an early lead after some sloppy Newcastle play. However, the Magpies recovered well and deserved their equaliser in the 38th minute through Harvey Barnes.
There were a number of eye-catching performers on the day, while some still flattered to deceive, despite a positive overall showing from Newcastle…
Winners
Nick Pope
Nick Pope has had to watch on this summer as his status as Newcastle No.1 comes under threat, first with the club chasing James Trafford, then signing Aaron Ramsdale on loan after Trafford opted to return to Manchester City.
The 10-time England international hasn’t exactly enjoyed his pre-season action, either, conceding five goals in defeats to Celtic, Arsenal and the K-League All Stars and making a serious error against the former.
However, on Sunday, just hours after the official Ramsdale announcement, Pope stood tall, making four saves against Tottenham, including standing tall as Mathys Tel ran through one-on-one in the first half.
Pope also made six recoveries and one high claim (FotMob), while also completing all but one of his passes — which will particularly please him, given many are touting the Ramsdale signing as an answer to his footballing deficiencies.
There will still be questions surrounding Pope’s future at St. James’ Park, but he’s given Eddie Howe some serious thinking to do here.
Harvey Barnes
There are bigger names around, but Harvey Barnes has proven himself a consistent threat in the final third since joining Newcastle two years ago, notching 14 goals and seven assists in 63 appearances for the club to date.
And amid all the panic about Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and what signings Newcastle will make, Barnes was out there again on Sunday, proving the Magpies can continue to rely on him.
| Stats vs Spurs | Harvey Barnes |
| Goals | 1 |
| Assists | 0 |
| Shots attempted | 2 |
| Chances created | 1 |
| Touches in opposition box | 6 |
The former Leicester man took his equalising goal brilliantly, cutting inside to create the space past Pedro Porro, before firing a powerful effort inside Antonin Kinsky’s near post.
Many will see Gordon and Anthony Elanga as Newcastle’s starting wingers, but moments like this from Barnes suggest he will play a major role still for Howe — especially with Champions League commitments to juggle again.
Seung-soo Park
Another winger who may find themselves with a surprisingly prominent role in Eddie Howe’s squad this season is Seung-soo Park.
The teenager only joined from Suwon Bluewings at the end of July and has just 28 senior club matches under his belt.
However, he was given a runout in front of a South Korean crowd on Sunday, and such was his cameo outing, fans are already begging Newcastle ‘not to loan him out’ this summer.
Park created one chance and completed all six of his passes in just 14 minutes on the pitch, while noticeably upping the tempo of Newcastle’s play from the moment he came on.
Asking Park to be a Premier League regular at just 18 years old and with no European experience may be too much at the moment. But he’s proven to Howe that he can hang with high-calibre players and has made a case for some cup performances.
Losers
Joelinton
Not much went right for Joelinton on Sunday.
The Brazilian midfielder missed two glorious first-half chances, first failing to connect with a Gordon cutback before shanking an attempted header off his shoulder after being picked out in style by Bruno Guimarares.
Joelinton lost more duels (7) than any other player on the pitch and posted 0% success on dribbles. The 28-year-old also got himself involved in more unsavoury antics with an elbow to the face of Archie Gray that went unpunished.
Not Joelinton’s finest hour.
Jacob Murphy
We’ll caveat this by saying that Jacob Murphy didn’t have a bad game. He just didn’t have a great game. In fact, his start to the match was a disaster.
The 30-year-old first shanked a clearance from an early Spurs corner, nearly gifting the North Londoners the lead. Then, determined to give Thomas Frank’s side a headstart, Murphy lost possession in midfield cheaply to allow Spurs to break and open the scoring through Brennan Johnson.
Murphy did get better from there, whipping in a few decent crosses and enjoying some dangerous moments — but he never did anything that outweighed his dreadful opening five minutes.
William Osula
William Osula is a player with bags of potential, but he’s endured a pretty anonymous pre-season so far — which is particularly disappointing given the opening at No.9 for Newcastle right now.
Osula was given a 29-minute run against Spurs on Sunday but failed entirely to make the Lilywhites think.
The 21-year-old had just six touches of the ball and completed one pass from two attempts, while posting blanks for shots attempted and chances created, and a 0% success rate on dribbles.
There will be further opportunities against Espanyol and Atletico Madrid before the season begins, but Osula has so far failed to show he can be part of Eddie Howe’s forward line.