Sean Steur's second-half performance against Everton on Monday night may force Newcastle United head coach Matthias Jaissle to hand the 18-year-old Dutch midfielder a first start against Fulham on Saturday.
The clamour for Steur to start was already loud before his cameo in the 1-0 defeat at Goodison Park. Now it is almost too significant for Jaissle to ignore.
Steur's impact off the bench
The Dutchman has been used sparingly this season, but has shown maturity beyond his years when given the chance. After a man-of-the-match performance against Hull City in September, his minutes have been limited to second-half run-outs as Jaissle looks to protect the midfielder, who only just broke into the Ajax first-team picture last season.
In the 26 minutes he was given against Everton, no one in a Newcastle shirt made more passes into the final third than Steur, despite him playing less than a third of the game. His 20 passes into the danger area was a glaring but welcome change in the latter stages as United pressed for an equaliser they had not looked like getting before his introduction.
Intelligent use of the ball
Steur's first intention is always to go forward, but he used the ball intelligently against Everton, keeping possession and rotating the Toffees backline as he probed for an opening. Everton stood firm to defend their lead comfortably in the end, with only Yoane Wissa's shot on the turn giving Jordan Pickford any concern, but Steur asked more questions than anyone.
He managed twice as many passes into the final third as Nico Gonzalez, despite only playing half the minutes of the former Manchester City man, while only Lewis Hall (17) came close to his total.
Midfield dilemma for Jaissle
Jaissle appears to feel that Steur and Gonzalez would struggle to play alongside each other in midfield, with their styles too similar. With the Spaniard unlikely to be dropped, a switch to a three-man midfield is perhaps the only way both will be accommodated in the short term, but the numbers Steur posted on Monday will soon become hard to ignore.
