Eddie Howe’s arrival as Newcastle United manager may ‘open up a new avenue’ for defender Federico Fernandez at the club.
That’s according to AS Argentina, who look at the defender’s situation today and how the change in manager at the club could spark better fortunes for him.
They explain that Fernandez ‘has seen better days’ in England and is currently going through a ‘period of uncertainty’ after falling out of favour under Steve Bruce this season.
He has hardly played recently under the former Newcastle boss, with his last appearance for the club coming on the 2nd of October in the loss to Wolves.
Since then, he has sat on the bench against Tottenham and been completely missing from the matchday squads for Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Brighton.
That was under the old regime, though, and there’s a feeling things could change under Howe. AS argue that while the big names are being ‘bandied’ about for January, Newcastle need to ‘start thinking about the present’ to get out of their current predicament.
The defence is one of the first areas Howe needs to address, and in Fernandez, he has an ‘experienced centre-back with leadership qualities’ at his disposal.
It’s hoped Howe’s arrival could ‘open up a new avenue’ for the defender, who is ‘waiting for a chance’ to prove his worth.
The former Bournemouth boss using a three-man defence in the past could give Fernandez an ‘important role’ and allow him to ‘gain continuity’ and help the Newcastle defence ‘improve its level’.
That would certainly help, given it’s undoubtedly been the Magpies biggest issue so far this season. Whether Fernandez is the answer remains to be seen but AS certainly think so either way.
