Newcastle United head coach Matthias Jaissle believes Will Osula and Yoane Wissa looked 'really, really good' playing together for the first 20 minutes of their defeat against Everton on Wednesday.
Goals from Thierno Barry, Iliman Ndiaye and Tyrique George rendered Harvey Barnes' late consolation strike as useless as the Magpies were beaten 3-1 at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh.
Jaissle experiments with front pairing
Jaissle continued to experiment with new team selections as he continues to get to grips with his Newcastle squad and one eyebrow raising selection came up front during United's visit to the home of Scottish rugby.
If Saturday's line-up in the 2-1 win over Valencia had suggested it was a choice of Osula OR Wissa up front this season then Wednesday's selection against the Toffees suggested they could play together.
Wissa lined up behind Osula up front in a role he excelled in for DR Congo behind Cedric Bakambu during the World Cup and they linked up well together in the opening exchanges of the match.
Promising early signs
Osula had a dangerous run which saw him skip past the challenges of numerous Everton players and that was cut out just as he was about to pull the trigger.
Wissa also saw an effort whistle over the crossbar after he connected with a volley to a Bazoumana Toure cross that had only been half cleared.
The Magpies lost their swagger once they fell behind but when asked if he saw enough to be convinced he could play them together this season, rather than pitting them against each other, Jaissle offered a response that left some room for interpretation.
Jaissle remains open-minded
"It was just a friendly match and we were bringing a different couple up front together," Jaissle told Chronicle Live. "And again, in the first 15 to 20 minutes it looked really, really good."
"But that is just a friendly match so we still have two more before we make a decision to decide who is playing against Liverpool."
Jaissle played two different teams for each half against David Moyes' side, with Nick Woltemade playing up front and Joe Willock slotting into the number 10 role in the second half.
With two friendlies in two days over the weekend against Bayer Leverkusen and Strasbourg, clearly Jaissle will do some more experimentation with his team before deciding on his strongest XI to face Liverpool in their Premier League opener next weekend.
