When Eddie Howe took over from Newcastle in early November, he was forced to work with a team that was clearly incapable of winning and was on the decline. Yes, they strengthened the squad in January, but howe's first few weeks at St James' Park, he had to make good use of the players he had. One area that needs to be strengthened in the winter window is the centre-forward, with the arrival of Bruno Guimaras in a high profile, Newcastle stepped up their options, yet another Brazilian played a key role in turning the club's fortunes around. Jorrington had never started as a centre-back in the league before December, and only when Howe lost 3-1 to Liverpool late last year did he change the former Hoffenheim player's approach.
Now, Jorrington has started eight league games for Newcastle as a centre-back this season and has played as a centre-back for 13 consecutive times since he took charge. Of all the Newcastle players during this time, only Trippier and St. Maximan, who arrived in January, performed more prominently than Joe Linton. Even more impressive is the 25-year-old's efforts to cope with the increasingly fierce competition in the Premier League, transforming himself from a goal-scoring striker into a hard-working winger and now a machine that can help the team win games. The previous game against Everton was Jorrington's masterpiece, and he performed very well that night except for the shot that inexplicably hit the head, in a no-ball state. In fact, he completed seven tackles against the Toffee, his best record when playing for Newcastle, the same as seven against Watford last month.
Since Howe took charge in early November, Jolington has surpassed Jacob Murphy (18) and Manquillo (16) in tackles (39) for a total of 34. 33.9% of Jolington's total tackles in the Premier League were played in 11 games under Howe. During that time, he tackled more than the 2019-20 season (34) and the 2020-21 season (33). Yes, Newcastle added a number of new signings last month, with Trippier, Chris Wood, Dan Byrne and Matt Target injecting Premier League experience into the team and Guimaras making headlines, but to date, under Howe's leadership, the Magpies' biggest discovery may have been to unearth The Best of Jorrington. Thankfully, Howe will be using the infinite energy of Joe Linton, misused by Bruce, and Newcastle is clearly getting better as a result.
The most important thing for Howe now is that he has two Brazilian midfielders to create space for Shelvy and maximize his passing range to help expand coverage to both wings. The 79.7% pass success rate may not be to be praised, but under Howe's leadership, he is The best player in Newcastle, with Jorrington and Guimarães struggling to disrupt the rhythm of their opponents in a no-ball situation, allowing Shelvy to find teammates accurately. Jorrington has previously been dubbed a parallel by the media and fans, with many pointing to the club's lack of direction when they spent £40m on a striker who scored just seven league goals in the season before moving to St James' Park. And Joe Linton is now the first name on howe's starting list, and for good reason. Crucially, Wood, who signed in January, eased the pressure on Jorrington's goalscoring and enabled him to finish the attack efficiently.
Before January, Callum Wilson was Newcastle's main source of goals, however the Magpies' struggle near the opposing penalty area was understandable when he missed the game. Jolington sometimes has the task of dominating the attack, in fact, the role does not fit the way he plays. Since coming to England, he has scored just seven league goals, six of which have been scored in the 46 league games he started. But now he can play more freely, which makes it harder for Newcastle to be crushed and allows Jorrington to perform freely without pressure. The Brazilian's rebirth will undoubtedly be one of the club's success stories under how to rule, and they are now expected to emerge from danger and cement their position in the Premier League.