THIS remarkable Nabil Bentaleb statistic ranks Newcastle United new boy among Europe's elite

Newcastle United new boy Nabil Bentaleb ranks as one of European football’s elite when it comes to one particular statistic – scoring penalties.

By Liam Kennedy

Published 21st Jan 2020, 16:30 BST- 1 min read

Updated 21st Jan 2020, 16:30 BST

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - JANUARY 20: Nabil Bentaleb poses for photographs after signing for Newcastle United at The Gosforth Park Hotel on January 20, 2020 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)

Only three players are ranked higher than the Algerian international, who penned a loan deal from Schalke today, when it comes to taking and scoring penalties in Europe’s top five divisions – England, Spain, France, Germany and Italy.

Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Bentaleb has scored 14 penalties out of 14 for the Bundesliga outfit. Even more remarkable is that his last 14 goals for Schalke have all come from the spot. His last strike from open play came back in November 2016 in a 3-1 win over Werder Bremen.

The three players with better penalty records than the 25-year-old are Celta Vigo’s Ryad Boudebouz, a former United target, who has scored 21 out of 21.

Then comes former Middlesbrough man Cristhian Stuani, of FC Girona, and Werder Bremen's Max Kruse, who both have 16/16.