OPINION
Paul Dummett is part of the furniture at St. James’s Park.
The Welsh international has spent his entire career at Newcastle United, aside from a couple of loan spells away from the club, and has slowly established himself as a vital part of the Magpies’ squad.
Generally understated, after spending a large part of the early season sidelined through injury, the defender must have wondered where exactly his future lay on Tyneside after Rafa Benitez shifted to a three at the back and he found Matt Ritchie ahead of him in the pecking order at left wing-back.
If there were any doubts, however, Dummett surely answered them against Leicester City on Friday night.
The 27-year-old put in a stellar performance as his side picked up a wholly unexpected 1-0 win on their travels.
His opportunity might have come as a consequence of the horrendous injury suffered by Florian Lejeune last weekend, but you have to admire that Dummett stepped in the breach and proved why he still has a future with his boyhood club.
He is solid and dependable with a fearless streak and an intelligence that allows him to read the game well.
He looked completely at home alongside Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schar, and with Lejeune expected to be out for a while, that bodes well for the Magpies going into next season.
Dummett is never going to be the first on the team sheet at Newcastle, but the £35,000-a-week [Spotrac] defender proved once again why he is a vital cog in this machine.
