From an explosive full-back to a star striker: The three players that will benefit most under Eddie Howe at Newcastle United

Many fans will hope that Howe’s imminent appointment can transform Newcastle’s season and for three players, it could do just that.

Here, we take a look at three players who could benefit most from this expected change of management at Newcastle United:

Jamal Lewis

Many supporters had high hopes for Lewis this season following an impressive pre-season that seemed to indicate the former Norwich player was back to his very best.

However, Lewis has featured just for just six minutes in the league this season - and even that came when his side were 4-1 down at Old Trafford.

At Bournemouth, Howe used his full-backs to great effect, often being relied upon to create width for the side as the wingers in front of them tucked inside.

Lewis played a similar role during his time at Carrow Road and with the potential for the ‘shackles’ to come off at St James’s Park, Lewis could be a revelation under new management.

Fabian Schar

It would be perhaps unfair to directly compare Schar with Nathan Ake, especially considering he became a £40m Pep Guardiola signing, however, it is in the ‘Nathan Ake’ role that Schar could excel under Howe.

Newcastle’s seeming reluctance to keep hold of possession under Steve Bruce made the ‘ball-playing defender’ role almost obsolete, meaning the need for Schar also became obsolete.

Now however, in Howe, they should have a manager who likes his teams to have the ball, be patient with it and to build steadily from the back, waiting for their opportunity to strike high up the pitch.

This is exactly the role Nathan Ake played to great success and could be the one Schar plays, at least until January when Howe can assess his squad and bring in reinforcements if required.

Callum Wilson

Since his arrival, Newcastle’s attack has predominantly been built around Wilson - and for good reason.

His twelve goals last campaign were vital in keeping Newcastle United in the league, and his four in just six games so far this season have once again shown his value to the squad.

Wilson is clearly the focal point for this team but too often under Bruce, it felt like he was isolated and given very few opportunities to get on the score sheet in games.

Hopefully, under Howe this will be a lot different and the whole team and system will be set out in a way to get the very best out of the no.9.

Bournemouth often utilised through-balls to Wilson as a main route to goal and if this plan didn’t work, then their wingers, namely Matt Ritchie and then Ryan Fraser, would be tasked with getting crosses into the area.

Wilson has shown his ability to score all types of goals, whether that’s scoring typical poacher’s goals, getting on the end of defence-splitting through balls, or with sublime efforts like the one we saw against Crystal Palace - if you give him a chance, he will likely bury it.

Quite simply, the more chances they can provide for Wilson, the more goals they will score and the likelihood of Premier League survival only increases.

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