OPINION
It’s hard to pin down Deandre Yedlin. The Newcastle United defender is equal parts scintillating roadrunner and frustrating defensive liability, and depending on who you talk to he is either a real asset or a disaster waiting to happen.
Whereas is Premier League performances have drawn scorn in recent weeks, however, he has managed to establish himself as a key player for the USA national side, and that status cemented last night when he was given the captain’s armband against Chile, as confirmed via their Twitter.
Leading the #USMNT tonight for the first time: Captain @yedlinny 👨🏽✈️ pic.twitter.com/p2dlZDFkPb
— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) March 26, 2019
The side battled to an impressive 1-1 draw, but result aside, Newcastle fans must be scratching their heads at the decision to give Yedlin the captaincy.
The £30,000-a-week full-back [Spotrac] has spent most of this season in a kind of no-man’s land, drifting between his defensive duties and his attacking forays with a lack of conviction and a demeanour that has, at times, looked closer to a lost child at a carnival.
Things seem to happen around Yedlin, he is rarely the orchestrator, and on the occasions that he does step up and put the hammer down, the 25-year-old seems to have a worrying lack of end product.
And yet, he just captained his national team. He clearly has more to give, and on the basis of that decision alone, he must be showing what he can do in some capacity at some point.
It is a huge honour to lead your country out, and Newcastle fans will just be hoping that the boost something like that can give a player helps Yedlin turn his form around.
