As per stats collated by BT Sport and added to by the Chronicle’s Mark Douglas on Twitter, a damning insight in regards to Joelinton’s in the final third has emerged. Indeed, as per the notable journalist, the Brazilian has had just 42 touches in oppositions’ penalty boxes this season, far less than Miguel Almiron – who has had 60.
Joelinton has had just 42 touches in the box so far this season. Almiron's had 60. @asaintmaximin, despite missing games, has had 30.
He's playing too deep… https://t.co/PNEB66Z7v6
— Mark Douglas (@MsiDouglas) January 22, 2020
Obviously, it’s not been an easy ride for the South American so far. While he did score at home against Rochdale in the FA Cup recently, his outing in the away game down at Spotland was met with chants of ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’ and he is without a goal in the Premier League since August.
Furthermore, his average of 1.5 shots per game this season is the lowest in his recorded career (via WhoScored) making the decision to hand him the number 9 shirt as a replacement for Salomon Rondon (who Mike Ashley reportedly didn’t push to sign due to his age) look all the more baffling.
With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the reaction to the stats online.
Said it weeks ago, his positioning without the ball is horrendous. He seems to run to the edge of the box when the ball is out wide. But he’s not getting much help aswel.
— Craig Wilkinson (@wilki_nufc) January 22, 2020
Or maybe sadly he’s just not good enough.
— john (@mulley85) January 22, 2020
Have you seen his touches in the box? Honking mate, what a waste of 40 million.
— Zak Khan (@llkhan8) January 23, 2020
https://twitter.com/KalPietar/status/1220085285238628353
Has any one considered the fact that he’s not a centre forward?
— [𝗝𝗣] (@jp__tbh) January 22, 2020
He’s a statue in the box. His movement is terrible. He’s not a striker. At least not in this league.
— Anthony (@ir0nMonkie) January 22, 2020
Will Joelinton score again this season? Join the discussion by commenting below…
