'Which players?' - Matthias Jaissle bites back after £72m Newcastle United pair snub
Newcastle United summer signings Bazoumana Toure and Aladji Bamba are still waiting to make their first Premier League starts.
Matthias Jaissle bit back after being questioned over Bazoumana Toure and Aladji Bamba’s lack of minutes since joining Newcastle United.
The pair joined the Magpies in the summer for a combined £72million from Hoffenheim and Monaco, respectively, but are yet to start a Premier League match. Toure started and scored in the Carabao Cup second round win over West Bromwich Albion before being withdrawn at half-time, while Bamba, like Toure, has been restricted to three substitute appearances.
Jaissle was without seven outfield players for the 2-1 win over Hull City on Saturday due to injury, but neither Toure nor Bamba were called into the starting XI. That is despite Toure coming off the bench to score a late consolation in the 4-1 defeat at Leeds United on Monday night.
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Both players were introduced from the bench in the closing stages as United saw out a hard-fought victory, where goals from Joe Willock and Lewis Hall gave them an early 2-0 lead before Mohamed-Ali Cho pulled one back in the 67th minute to create a very tense finish.
Matthias Jaissle bites back at Bazoumana Toure & Aladji Bamba question
When asked why Toure and Bamba were left out of the XI, despite the number of absences, Jaissle initially bit back and replied: “Which players would you have to take out instead?”
For context, Harvey Barnes played on the left wing ahead of Toure, while Matias Fernandez-Pardo and Jacob Murphy occupied the other attacking positions. In Bamba’s midfield position, both Sean Steur and Joe Willock started with Lewis Miley forced to deputise at right-back with Amar Dedic and Tino Livramento missing.
Jaissle continued: “Yeah, but we know as a coach, it's always not easy to make decisions, even though he has now many injuries. But the lads in that position did an exceptional job.
“Now, Sean Steur, your colleague was just praising him a lot, that could have been also the position for AB [Bamba].
“These young lads, they just joined the club, and again, as I said already for the other lads as well, they need to adapt to the physicality, to the needs of this league. It's something different compared to where they came from.”