OPINION
Mo Diame’s chances of getting into the Newcastle United midfield were few and far between when Sean Longstaff was tearing up not long ago.
His place in the starting XI had been taken by the 21-year-old, and he no doubt thought that the chances of him playing for the remainder of the season were lost. That was, until Longstaff got injured and was ruled out of action.
Diame has taken his place in the middle of the park alongside Isaac Hayden, both of whom started the 2-0 defeat to Arsenal on Monday. However, the 31-year-old was dropped to the bench in favour of teammate Ki sung-yueng, who has also had less game time due to the limelight being on Longstaff.
If Ki wanted to cement his place in the starting XI with a stellar performance against Crystal Palace, it is safe to say that this match was not it. Not in the slightest.
Diame is no doubt jumping for joy after this lacklustre outing from the South Korean, as the possibility of him being recalled is now higher than ever. Instead of sweating about his spot being compromised, Diame is now the opposite.
Ki is capable of so much more than he showed, but that will not matter to Diame at all, not one bit. This is the chance for him to capitalise on Ki’s errors, so the 2016 signing must make the most of it.
Rafa Benitez cannot afford for his players to make many mistakes and be complacent after the loss to Palace. They need at least another win to be mathematically safe, so the upcoming fixture with Leicester is definitely an important one.
If there is one thing to be learned here, it is that the manager needs to recall Diame back into his line up for Friday. Ki was woeful, and that must be punished.
