Matias Fernandez-Pardo is itching to start for Newcastle United after two eye-catching cameos from the bench.

Matthias Jaissle dangled a carrot to his Belgian namesake - and Newcastle United supporters - on Thursday afternoon. If he is tussling over whether to unleash Matias Fernandez-Pardo tonight, hopefully this piece will convince the German to do exactly that.

"He is getting closer to starting,” Jaissle told reporters. “We need to be smart with his load management. He has had a full training week this week, the first since he arrived. We will need to make a decision on him Sunday or even Monday."

Fernandez-Pardo has resembled an impatient Jack Russell desperate for its daily walk on the touchline so far. The lack of a pre-season at Lille has left the 21-year-old playing catch-up with his new Toon teammates.

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But in both cameos against Bournemouth and Millwall, Newcastle fans were given a glimpse of his £51million talent. In midweek, he combined with Lewis Hall on the left flank for Joe Willock’s winner at the Den.

It was the only real ingenuity of the game and proved enough to book the Magpies a spot in the Carabao Cup fourth round. That is what he was brought in to be: the difference-maker.

For all of Harvey Barnes’ and Anthony Elanga’s early promise this season, they force Newcastle to play one way. Four of United’s six Premier League goals have been scored on the counter-attack.

This is perhaps why Newcastle can appear uninventive and laboured when asked to break a team down. By contrast, Barnes and Elanga come alive with space in behind - as Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Bournemouth realised.

Fernandez-Pardo can be the glue to fuse the Toon attack together. If fit enough, Jaissle should let his £51million weapon loose against Leeds United.

His turn of speed, directness and ball-carrying ability is tailor-made for Jaissle’s “vertical football” - but he also brings that touch of guile. With Yoane Wissa in behind - a man reborn as a No.10 - Newcastle can arrive in West Yorkshire boasting swagger and confidence.

It would also slap Leeds with the element of surprise. Daniel Farke noted Newcastle’s counter-attack at his pre-match press conference. He knows what Barnes and Elanga can offer - but the Magpies have a Belgian ace up their sleeve.

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They need somebody capable of operating in tight areas, turning and driving at a defence rather than waiting for the next transition. Fernandez-Pardo could provide it.

Jaissle - not one to let slip team news to the media - hinted that he is getting closer. This was a climbdown from his post-Millwall comments, suggesting Fernandez-Pardo needs “his own” pre-season.

Four more days have passed. The timing feels right - and the Jack Russell has waited long enough. Let him off the leash at Elland Road.

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