Paul Robinson has gushed about Newcastle United defender Javier Manquillo for his performance in the 2-2 draw against Manchester City.
The Sky Sports pundit claimed the Spaniard is a massive asset for Steve Bruce to have at St James’ Park, given that he could play so well despite not featuring for a couple of months.
Robinson admitted that it is important that Manquillo stays consistent in his level of performance, and he must continue to impress on a weekly basis in the North East.
“Any player who can do that is a big asset to their manager as to not play for such a long time and come in and put in a performance of that level is very commendable,” he told Football Insider.
“It’s more important that you do it over a period of time though, he’s set his benchmark and now it’s time to do it week-in-week-out.”
The 25-year-old started the first game of the season against Arsenal, but his spot has been cemented by DeAndre Yedlin in the past couple of months.
OPINION
There is no hiding the fact that Manquillo was quality down the right-hand side against the champions, and the Spaniard is most likely to get another opportunity against Sheffield United on Thursday evening. Robinson is right to heap praise on the 25-year-old but to suggest that he will have to do it weekly is wrong, when Yedlin is back fully fit, Bruce will no doubt hand him to an opportunity to go straight back into the side on a consistent basis. Manquillo made three tackles against Manchester City [WhoScored] and put summer signing Emil Krafth further back in the pecking order at St James’ Park, meaning that Bruce has three solid options available to him at right-back between now and the end of the season in the Premier League. A great sign of the strength Newcastle have had this season is the depth available to them, especially in their defence as they continue to thrive despite a number of noticeable absentees.
