OPINION
Newcastle United attacker Yoshinori Muto received some good news on Tuesday as it was announced that he was set to be part of Japan’s squad for the AFC Asian Cup.
The Magpies revealed via an official statement on their website that after originally looking like he was going to miss the Asian Cup as he wasn’t named in Hajime Moriyasu’s initial 23-man squad, the 26-year-old had now been called up.
The Asian Cup is set to take place between the 5th of January to the 1st of February 2019 and this means that Muto could now possibly miss up to four league games, as well as an FA Cup tie, due to his participation in the tournament.
This a blow for the Magpies as they are short of attacking options as it is.
While Muto has been sidelined with an injury as of late in the 10 league appearances he has made, the player has looked like being a creative spark for the Magpies.
The 26-year-old looks like energetic presence who isn’t afraid to take players on and you feel that if he was regularly featuring in the side, the Magpies would be better for it.
Yet given that Muto, according to this update, is set to the depart club to join up with his international teammates after the clash with Manchester United, Rafa Benitez won’t be able to potentially call upon him in the coming weeks.
Due to being without the summer recruit who can plays as a winger, second striker or a centre-forward for a potential pivotal part of the season, Benitez will be scrambling in January to find new attackers as quickly as possible.
The Spanish manager will be aware that due to Muto departing shortly, new attackers need to enter near the start window not near the end.
Given that Muto looked unlikely to be going to the Asian Cup in recent times due to not making the squad, Benitez probably wasn’t prepared for the fact he’d need a replacement option as soon as possible.
Therefore while it’s good news for Muto as he no doubt feels privileged to represent his county, it’s a blow for the Magpies as it will now see Benitez scrambling in the January window to cover the player’s absence.
