Transfer Rumor: Joelinton Set to be Newcastle’s Next Record Breaking Signing

According to multiple sources in England and Germany Hoffenheim striker Joelinton is set to be the first signing of the summer for Newcastle United.

Joelinton’s reported transfer fee of £36 million would surpass Newcastle’s largest signing fee of £21 million for Paraguayan attacker Miguel Almiron. If signed, Joelinton will be one of two strikers on Newcastle’s senior team, and would likely start over Dwight Gayle.

Newcastle have been linked to Joelinton for the entirety of this calendar year, with the links heating up during the January transfer window and gaining steam towards the end of the season. The reported fee of £36 million seemed too high for Newcastle to actually match even after they broke their transfer record for Miguel Almiron. The longed pursuit of the Brazilian finally concluding means that regardless of who the manager was at the beginning of this season Joelinton was likely going to be in the team when the season began.

Joelinton had a breakout season at Hoffenheim underneath up and coming tactical genius Julian Nagelsmann, who’s exciting style of pressing football resulted in him becoming the manager of RB Leipzig. The 22 year old Brazilian had 11 goals and 9 assists for the Bundesliga side who finished 9th in the Bundesliga and were the third highest scoring team in the league with 70 goals scored.

Photo by Simon Hofmann/Getty Images

Joelinton is a physically imposing striker who stands at 1.86m (6 ft, 1 inch), and weighs (179 lbs). For his size Joelinton has a good amount of speed, and is one of the stronger strikers in the Bundesliga.

Despite being a number 9 on paper, Joelinton’s technical ability allowed him to play numerous positions under Nagelsmann. Nagelsmann often had Joelinton play as a second striker or CAM, making runs in behind the defense or using his ability as a dribbler to take on defenders 1v1. On occasion Joelinton was used as a right winger, where he often used his dribbling ability to cut inside for shots.

Joelinton on paper, looks like a player who is somewhere between the two strikers Newcastle lost: Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon. His size and physicality are similar to Rondon, but his techhnicality and versatility mirror the skill set of Ayoze Perez.

At his peak, Joelinton could be the next Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He could be a player, like Aubameyang, who has the technical ability to play multiple positions up front, could be a secondary playmaker, and uses his physical tools to be an adept finisher. Obviously the comparison is not completely spot on, as Aubameyang is a bit faster than Joelinton, while the Brazilian is stronger than Aubameyang, but the potential to be that type of player is real for Joelinton. The worry is whether he will even be at Newcastle long enough for him to grow into a potential star in the Premier League.

TSG Hoffenheim have confirmed that talks between them and a Premier League club are occurring. Joelinton was also left out of the team sheet for Hoffenheim’s friendly against SSV Jahn Regensburg today, a decision many believe confirms his imminent departure from Hoffenheim.

Watch this space for updates on Joelinton, and all other Newcastle news. Be sure to also follow us on Twitter @ComingHomeNUFC, and to check out our podcast CHN Radio.

Bonus Content: The Spectators View (@thespectoview) has an excellent scouting report on Joelinton they’ve done in a thread on Twitter. Be sure to check it out below, and give them a follow as well!