OPINION
For the past few days it has appeared that Hoffenheim attacker Joelinton is a dead ringer to be heading to Newcastle United before the transfer window is up.
We still wait for official confirmation from the two clubs, of course, but it certainly seems as if everything is trending in that direction. Indeed, the player has seemingly gotten the seal of approval from Magpies head of recruitment Steve Nickson.
The Chronicle reported on Saturday that the club are on the brink of breaking their transfer record for the Brazilian, after Nickson assessed his character and gave the deal the green light.
Like former Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez, Nickson is a stickler for getting the right sort of personalities in to St James’ Park, as well as the requisite talent. Everyone is in agreement over Joelinton’s ability, but Nickson still had questions over what sort of person the Hoffenheim star is.
Newcastle now believe Joelinton to be a family man, who will focus on his football and only get better the longer he is in England. He’s said to have struggled with homesickness when he first came to Germany in 2015, but has mastered that now and is very much used to life in England.
This is the sort of update that will have the Newcastle supporters salivating. In this day and age it’s important to get the right sort of characters through the door.
Already this summer in the Premier League we have seen uproar over Manchester United star Jesse Lingard’s Instagram activity, while West Ham United have had to offload their most talented attacker in Marko Arnautovic because he was, essentially, a bad egg – character matters.
So it appears that not only is Joelinton a terrific talent who will strengthen this Newcastle team in a key area that needs reinforcing, he should also be a positive dressing room presence, as well.
