As they look to get back to winning ways in the Premier League against Nottingham Forest this weekend, one Newcastle United star has received impressive praise from a club legend.
Howe previews "big" Nottingham Forest clash
So far, it’s been a good week for Eddie Howe and Newcastle. The Magpies netted four in a convincing victory against Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League and must now take that goalscoring form into the Premier League having so far scored just six goals in six league games.
Howe didn’t shy away from the importance of Nottingham Forest’s visit, either, whilst also taking the time to praise Ange Postecoglou as the Australian aims to turn things around following a tough start in the Midlands.
“They have a very strong group of players, a slight change in style, more possession based. A lot of rotation in the attacking areas.
“They have a good balance to their squad, Ange is an outstanding manager with a good track record, it is a big match for us.”
The Newcastle boss also confirmed the extent of Tino Livramento’s injury. Whilst the fullback thankfully avoided an ACL tear, he will miss the next eight weeks on the sidelines.
Howe told reporters: “He went to see a specialist, the scan initially looked better than we thought it was. The specialist confirmed it is an 8-week injury, which is a blow for us with the number of games we have in that period. It is a ligament injury and it will take time to recover.”
Although he’ll be without Livramento, there are still positives for the Newcastle boss ahead of this weekend. Nick Woltemade continued his strong start against USG by netting on his Champions League debut and another star player also enjoyed his best performance to earn praise from Alan Shearer.
Shearer blown away by "unbelievable" Elanga trait
Full of praise for Newcastle after they eased past USG, Shearer revealed that he’s been blown away by Elanga’s pace. The former Nottingham Forest star picked up the Man of the Match award after picking up an assist and running his UCL opponents ragged with his electric speed.
The Newcastle legend revealed his shock at just how quick Elanga looked in midweek, saying on The Rest Is Football podcast: “He’s rapid, isn’t he? I mean, oh my God, he’s like incredibly quick. It’s unbelievable how quick he is.”
It’s not the first time that the Swede’s speed has been on full show, either. Just last season, Elanga clocked the third-quickest run time and was only behind Matheus Nunes and Micky van de Ven.
In what has been an excellent week for Newcastle’s summer signing, he’d love nothing more than to cap things off by scoring his first goal for the club against his former side this weekend. A place on the scoresheet would truly get him up and running at St James’ Park.