Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has been told he has the final decision over whether to play Joelinton on the weekend against Fulham.
What’s the latest?
It has been revealed that in the early hours of Thursday morning, Newcastle’s Brazilian midfielder, Joelinton, was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.
The player was stopped by police around 01:20 am on Thursday morning and has since been charged with drink-driving and will face a day at court on 26 January.
This comes after Newcastle’s victory in the League Cup against Leicester City which secured them a spot in the semi-finals against Southampton.
But with a Premier League clash against Fulham on Sunday, journalist Craig Hope has said on his YouTube channel that the club’s owners have given Howe free-reign as to whether to drop the player or not:
(1:20) “Eddie was also asked interestingly, you know, have the Saudi Arabian owners had a say or intervened in this situation given you know, alcohol is banned in the country of the majority owners. Eddie said the discussions had taken place, but any decision would be left to him.”
Unwanted decision
This is certainly not the type of issue that Howe would have wanted to deal with when Newcastle find themselves on such a promising run of form.
The Magpies have surpassed all expectations this season as they’ve catapulted themselves into the Champions League race as they sit third in the table.
There has been a real feel of togetherness on Tyneside since Howe took over in the dugout and that was evident on Wednesday night following the win against the Foxes.
However, an issue like this does cast a shadow over what has been a sensational turnaround from Joelinton under the 45-year-old manager.
And this season has shown the midfielder to be a player reborn under Howe with three goals and three assists to his name across all competitions (via Transfermarkt).
The Brazilian even scored the second goal of the game in the League Cup clash against Leicester on Wednesday night to seal the Magpies a 2-0 victory.
But he has given his manager a problem to deal with here. In the past, we have seen Tottenham Hotspur decide to start Hugo Lloris after he was arrested for suspicion of drink-driving.
However, this is a decision which will fall at Howe’s feet and the example he may want to set.
Yes, Joelinton is on an incredible run of form on Tyneside, but Howe may feel he has to set a precedent over what he expects from his players off the field as well as on it.