Speaking exclusively with Compare.bet, former Newcastle and Ireland star Jeff Hendrick has given his thoughts on the Premier League, Football League and beyond. The former midfielder has discussed the return to fitness of Yoane Wissa as well as transfer links to Manchester City’s James Trafford at St James’ Park. Hendrick has also given his thoughts on why Declan Rice is currently the best midfielder in the Premier League and how Nathan Collins can earn himself a Champions League move.
Q: Can Newcastle climb and compete at the top of the table?
“I think it’s still early. With the start of the season and Champions League football back, I said before the season started that the main thing for them is to finish in the top four.
“They obviously haven’t been up there, but being in the Champions League makes it a lot harder. They haven’t got the biggest squad.
“The travel and demands of the Champions League are really tough. The fans, and we all know what they’re like under the lights on Champions League nights, want to represent themselves and the club well and do really well in that competition.
“I think they’re at a stage where they need to find a happy medium, getting into the Champions League spots in the Premier League while also doing themselves justice in Europe.
‘It’s a hard point they’re at where they can’t pick one because they want to do well in both. But I think for me, they definitely want to climb the table, and finishing in the Champions League spots will help them financially and with everything.
“They’ll definitely be eager to climb the table. I think they can. They were unlucky in a few games this year where it hasn’t gone their way, or they haven’t got the result when they’ve played really well.
“So I don’t think they’ll be too harsh on themselves, and they know there’s a lot more football to be played. I can see that come the end of the season, they will be challenging for those Champions League spots.”
Q: Is Alexander Isak’s exit having a lingering effect at Newcastle?
“I think Alexander Isak’s exit is potentially a lingering factor for sure because we all know he was brilliant for them. If you look at the fact they went in for a lot of strikers and didn’t get one until late, they started the season with no senior striker.
“That’s going to have an effect on the team. Then they’ve picked up injuries throughout the starting eleven and they’ve had to chop and change.
“So I wouldn’t say it’s down to Isak not being there that they didn’t start the season well. I think it was more that they didn’t get the targets in quickly enough so they could have them in pre-season and get to know each other.
“But I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s down to Isak. It was more down to maybe missing out on targets they had throughout the summer.”
Q: Has Nick Woltemade surpassed your expectations at Newcastle?
“I had seen clips of Nick Woltemade from last year, and friends who are crazy into football had said he was a good player. They mentioned certain attributes about him, but when he came in, I think he instantly showed what he can do. He is definitely a different type of player to Alexander Isak.
“I know Newcastle were in the market for another striker, so I wouldn’t say he was a like-for-like swap, they were going to look for a striker anyway. But with him coming in, I think he is so graceful to watch.
“He is so tall, but he is one of those players who is so comfortable on the ball. He has nice touches, he likes to bring players into play, and the way he drops in, his style of play with the wingers they have, I think it works brilliantly for them, with the pace of the wingers running in behind and stretching the play.
“I think he has just fit into their system and the way they play really well. So, he probably has surpassed my expectations a little bit, but I’m not too surprised because I did hear really good things about him.”
Q: Is Yoane Wissa not going to AFCON a bonus for Newcastle?
“I think it definitely is a bonus keeping Yoane Wissa seeing as he’s not played and he’s not been available. So, they’ve obviously brought him in and got him back up to full fitness, and they want to integrate him back into the matchday squad and get him going.
“It probably would have hurt them to bring this player in for a good amount of money and then get him ready only for him to go off and play in AFCON, but it would have definitely hurt them. I think having him fit now and coming into the Christmas period will be a bonus because they need everyone fit as games are coming fast.
“I think it’ll definitely be a bonus to have just that other option because we all saw how well he was doing at Brentford, and if you get him fit, they’ve got a really good player on their hands.
“But the main thing is keeping him fit now, because sometimes you can rush and bring a player back in and they break down. So, I think they will be cautious of that as well.”
Q: Could you see Newcastle turning their focus to the Champions League?
“The main thing is they have to climb the Premier League table and get into the Champions League spots. Them yo-yoing in and out of the Champions League is not good for their financials.
“Really, their main focus has to be climbing the Premier League table. On the other side, they will do well in the Champions League, like I said, at their stadium with their support. It does turn into a special evening, so they will want to do well in that regardless. They will do well and they’ll have some great nights.
“But, if you look at maybe winning the Champions League, it’s going to be really, really difficult if you look at certain teams, again, PSG, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, there’s lots of top clubs probably with, not being disrespectful to Newcastle because I think the team are brilliant, but they’re bigger teams and probably got more elite players ready to compete in that competition and go and win it.
“That doesn’t mean in a one-off game, Newcastle can’t do well against them, but I think the main focus is the Premier League and then they will have great nights in the Champions League. I think for me, that’s where their focus will be.”
Q: What do you make of the competition between Nick Pope and Aaron Ramsdale at Newcastle?
“It’s a tough one. At Newcastle, even when I was there, there was always competition between two goalkeepers. That’s the way it is. But when Nick Pope went in, he really stamped his authority on being number one.
“There were good keepers who were back-up to him, but they knew they were back-up. But then with them bringing Aaron Ramsdale in, who’s worked with Eddie Howe before, you did sort of question, is he potentially going to be number one?
“I played with Nick. I see all his attributes. I think he’s brilliant. His shot-stopping is excellent, and the way he just comes for crosses, he commands his box. He’s so tall and the way he just commands is fantastic.
“But, you know, Ramsdale has come in, and I think he’s the number one right now. That would be tough for Nick to take, but I’m sure he’d be challenging and wanting to get that spot back.
“It’s probably healthy. All the goalkeepers talk about the goalkeeper union and they all help each other out, being prepared for games and all, but when you have two good keepers like that, none of them want to be sitting on the bench. So they’d be working really hard.”
Q: What do you think of Newcastle’s interest in James Trafford?
“There was big talk of James Trafford in the summer. I wonder if Newcastle are looking to the future with his age?
“I think with him going to Man City and then them bringing Gianluigi Donnarumma in, you knew he wasn’t going to play and he probably had a bit of a difficult start to the season when he did play.
“He’s obviously got huge potential, he’s a young keeper, but he did really well when he was at Bournemouth. So, yeah, they’re probably looking to the future, but I don’t know how that will impact the keepers that are currently there, especially if they bring him in in January.
“You’re going to have three top keepers all going for the number one spot. One of them is going to be left out. So, it’s a difficult situation.
“If Newcastle do bring him in in January, I think they need to offload one of the keepers just to make it easier for the manager, because he’s going to have a real headache.
“He’s good, but I don’t think he’s any better than the two keepers there right now at this current moment. The only way I can see this happening is if they are looking to the future.”
Q: Can you see why Newcastle might go after Brentford’s Igor Thiago?
“I think it’s a bit like the goalkeeper situation. If they do bring Igor Thiago in, are they overloaded with players? They have a lot of wingers, like we’ve seen Anthony Gordon play up front. They’ll end up with a lot of strikers.
“I know they’ve got Champions League football, the Premier League, and Cup games, but I don’t know if it’s something they need right now. He’s obviously done fantastically well this year, especially after last year. I don’t know if it would be something that they would pursue in January.”
Q: How do you see the Declan Rice vs Moises Caicedo debate?
“It’s hard to debate when there are different types of players. Both of them cover the ground, I don’t think there’s a blade of grass left on the pitch that they haven’t touched come the end of the game. But I really like, as I said, another one, Dominik Szoboszlai at Liverpool, I really like.
“I know Declan Rice myself as well personally, but I think he is, at this current moment, the best midfielder in the Premier League. Just the way he runs that midfield for Arsenal, he’s demanding. I don’t see any player who gives him a really tough challenge.
“There are other great midfielders, I just think Declan’s got it all. I do really, really like him and he’s one of the first names, I’m sure, on the team sheet for Arsenal and England.
“For me, he’s improving his game each year. Maybe one thing I’d like him to add is more goals to it. But other than that, I think he’s fantastic. And to see his improvement over the last five, six years has been great to see.”
Q: Can Nathan Collins earn himself a Champions League move?
“Nathan Collins, I’ve known from a young age, was always going to go on and be a captain. Just look at the attributes he has, he’s big, he’s tall, he’s strong, he’s quick. He’s comfortable on the ball.
“I don’t see why a top Champions League team wouldn’t be looking at him right now. In the summer there were other centre backs names getting floated a bit, maybe because Nathan has a few more years on his contract left he wasn’t so involved.
“I think if he keeps going on the way he is, I don’t see why he wouldn’t go to a top team. Like I said, he has all the attributes and he’s doing a week in, week out.
“He’s captain of a Premier League club who’s doing really well. For me, it’d be great to see an Irish aspect as well. We want our Irish players playing at as big clubs as possible and I don’t see why he couldn’t go to one. I think he’d fit in and he wouldn’t look out of place at all.”
Q: What would you like to see from Evan Ferguson at Roma?
“Evan Ferguson needs to get a run of games. I think he’s under a great manager in Gian Piero Gasperini, but he hasn’t got the rub of the green really.
“I think when he went there in pre-season, he was scoring goals and everyone was optimistic that he’s back in form. It’s been difficult. He’s young, I think he’s 21.
“He burst onto the scene and there was a lot of pressure put on his shoulders, especially from Irish fans. But then with injuries, changing managers, he went down on loan last year, it didn’t work out for him.
“So for me, I think if he could finish the season off now fit and available for every game, listening to the manager and improving his game, I think the goals will come.
“And, like I said, as a selfish point of view for the Ireland team, we want all our players fit and healthy going into March. I think it’d be amazing if he could just stay fit and get a run of games and, like I said, just build up that momentum and confidence.
“He still has a long way to go in his career. Like Evan, I’ve seen him come into the Ireland fold at a young age and when he was fit and confident, his movement was brilliant, his finishing right foot, left foot, with his head was really good.
“So sometimes it can be just confidence and he’s not really got a run of games for probably 18 months now. So it’d be nice to see him finish the last five, six months of the season and just play.”
