OPINION
With only days remaining for many European clubs to conclude their business in the transfer window, Newcastle United will surely be hoping to keep ahold of their brightest talents.
Steve Bruce was left with a daunting task when joining the Magpies, with his squad from last season looking depleted after the exits of forwards Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon.
Bruce strengthened in the attacking third with the arrivals of Joelinton and Allan Saint-Maximin, but also made the decision to add defender Emil Krafth to his ranks at St James’ Park.
The decision to sign the Swedish international right-back meant that the Magpies had three right-sided defenders at the club: Krafth, Javier Manquillo, and DeAndre Yedlin.
American international Yedlin came into the season an injury doubt, but Bruce confirmed in his pre-match press conference for the Watford game, as quoted by the Chronicle on their live blog (30/08 9:07 am), that the 26-year-old is back in training.
At the same time as that, Spanish outlet Levante EMV have reported that Valencia are lining up a late transfer swoop for Manquillo, who has dropped out of the starting 11 after featuring against Arsenal on the opening day.
With Yedlin coming back from injury towards fitness, Newcastle could easily sanction an exit for Manquillo should any potential offer come in for the Spaniard.
When comparing duo’s stats from last season via WhoScored, Yedlin more than proved that he is capable of taking the potential extra responsibility.
Looking at their attacking stats first, with Bruce looking for an extra outlet from out wide – Yedlin claimed a single goal, as well as averaging more shots and key passes per game.
Manquillo was also dispossessed more times on the ball on top of that as the American international used his pace to his advantage throughout the campaign.
With Yedlin set to return and Manquillo attracting interest, Bruce could confidently sanction an exit knowing that he has the suitable cover for Krafth this season.
