In recent years, Newcastle United have had some players represent the club who have gone under the radar. Perhaps two of the most famous examples of this are Ivan Toney and Mikel Merino.
Although they have gone on to pastures anew, with Toney playing for Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia and Merino now at Arsenal, they have both played for the Magpies.
England international Toney made just four appearances for the North Eastern side, and Merino, a Euro 2024 winner with Spain, played 25 times for the Magpies in 2017/18. Another of the more under-the-radar former Newcastle players is Joselu.
Josuel, it must be said has gone on to enjoy an intriguing career since leaving Tyneside, as too has one of his former teammates – more on that man later…
Joselu’s Newcastle career
Another 2024 European champion with Spain, Joselu has had a curious career. The 34-year-old might be considered by many as a journeyman.
Now playing in Qatar for Al-Gharafa SC, he has also played for clubs in Spain, Germany and England, namely Stoke City and, of course, Newcastle, who he joined from the Potters for £5m in 2017.
His record for the Magpies over two seasons is rather underwhelming. The Spain international managed just seven goals and two assists in 52 appearances for the North Eastern outfit. Six of those strikes came in the Premier League across two campaigns.
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He left St James’ Park to return to Spain in 2019, after a tough couple of years in those famous Black and White stripes of Newcastle. Joselu joined Alaves for an undisclosed fee, closing the chapter of his career in English football.
Incredibly, at the start of the 2023/24 campaign, the Stuttgart-born striker got his dream move back to Real Madrid, whose academy he previously played for. Although he spent just one season at Los Blancos, it was certainly memorable.
Joselu scored an impressive 17 goals in 49 games and was important in their Champions League win last term. He scored twice in the second leg of the semi-final against Bayern Munich, overturning a deficit to send his side through to the final at Wembley, which they went on to win.
The Spaniard left the Santiago Bernabeu a hero in the summer and was promptly replaced by none other than Kylian Mbappe. Interestingly, there is another former Newcastle star, Ayoze Perez, who is competing against the Frenchman in La Liga, and is holding his own.
Perez’s Newcastle career
In the Premier League era, there are just ten players with more top-flight goals for Newcastle than Perez. His influence at St James’ Park was impressive across the span of five seasons, including one campaign in the Championship.
In 195 total appearances for the Magpies, Perez managed to find the back of the net 48 times in all competitions, registering 17 assists, too. A versatile forward, he could be seen playing right across the front line.
Season
Games
Goals
Assists
2014/15
39
7
0
2015/16
37
6
2
2016/17
41
12
7
2017/18
37
10
4
2018/19
41
13
3
Now at Villarreal, versatile forward Perez has been fantastic for the Yellow Submarine in La Liga this term. He has seven goals in ten top-flight games, just two less than Mbappe, although he has played five fewer games.
Indeed, the pair are comparable on FBref after 15 games of the La Liga season. Perez actually trumps Mbappe when it comes to the number of goals per 90 minutes, with 1.13 compared to just 0.63 for the Frenchman. The former Newcastle star also scores more goals per shot, with 0.35 to Mbappe’s 0.09.
It is certainly interesting to see just how close to someone like Mbappe, who is valued at £120m, Perez is performing. As the stats show, he was a fairly consistent goalscorer for the Magpies, so no doubt their supporters are pleased to see his progress in La Liga.
Newcastle fans might well wish Mike Ashley had never sold Perez to Leicester City in 2019. Whilst they got £30m for him, he is performing at similar levels to a £120m player, so it could well be viewed as a bad decision.
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