Steve Bruce reveals what Joelinton must get used to at Newcastle United

Steve Bruce says Joelinton will need time to adjust to the intensity of the Premier League.
Joelinton. (Pic: Stephen Dobson)Joelinton. (Pic: Stephen Dobson)
Joelinton. (Pic: Stephen Dobson)

The striker, signed from Hoffenheim in a £40million deal this summer, should be fit for Sunday’s game away to Tottenham Hotspur after limping out of the weekend’s 3-1 defeat to Norwich City with a hip problem.

Joelinton, often isolated up front, struggled to hold the ball up at Carrow Road, where Teemu Pukki stole the headlines with a hat-trick at the other end of the pitch.

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The 23-year-old – who netted twice in pre-season after arriving on Tyneside last month – put a first-half header wide, and Bruce, United’s head coach, felt that the outcome could have been very different had Joelinton hit the target.

Steve Bruce.Steve Bruce.
Steve Bruce.

“I think it always takes time for anybody to come in in the Premier League,” said Bruce.

“Of course, with the price tag, you become talked about very, very quickly. I think anybody in my experience when you come to the Premier League, the first thing that hits you is the intensity to it.

“So we have got to let them all bed in, find their feet, but obviously we want them to hit the ground running quickly.

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“He had a big opportunity (against Norwich). If he had took that opportunity, it might have been a different ball game, but, unfortunately, it went just wide of the post.”

Joelinton has been supported by Miguel Almiron in the club’s first two league games.