Go For It Rafa – Why Newcastle United Should Sign This 24-year Old Chelsea Lad Permanently

As Rafa Benitez rebuilt Newcastle in the summer, he was unable to hold onto their winger Andros Townsend who they eventually sold to Premier League club Crystal Palace.

So he had to dip into the transfer market for reinforcements and Christian Atsu and Matt Ritchie were the two players he was able to sign.

Atsu is a player that seems to have been around for a while, having made his name in Portugal for Portugese club FC Porto. He looked a very exciting player full of pace and tricks, and was eventually signed by Chelsea for £3.5million.

Unfortunately for him, this probably wasn’t the wisest of moves, as when Chelsea sign players at these levels, it is rare for them to see the light of day for the club. They are usually sent out on numerous loans with the hope that they may develop into a player that Chelsea can make a profit on.

So far, that is the story for Atsu. The winger has had 5 loan moves in 3 years and is probably regretting his move to Chelsea and hoping that he impresses for the North east club as there is the option for a permanent deal in his contract.

And after a slow start, the winger has now scored twice in 3 Championship starts as he begins to show Benitez that he is worthy of a place at the club.

It is quite obvious that he is still very raw, as he struggles with his final ball and he isn’t the most clinical in front of goal. But he adds much needed pace and directness to the Newcastle side.

This was most evident during Newcastles performance against Cardiff at the weekend when the winger was a constant thorn in the side of the Welsh club, using his pace to threaten the Cardiff defence at will.

It was thought that the absence of Matt Ritchie would make Newcastle look week, but that has been far from the case, and Atsu has stepped in and replaced him faultlessly.

Whilst he has been a back up at Newcastle so far this season, largely down to the form of Ritchie and the reliability of Gouffran, the latter may be heading for the door in the January window as Newcastle debate whether to sell him before his contract runs out.

And Atsu’s form may be persuading them to sign him permanently for a few reasons. Firstly, because Gouffran’s contract is running out and they simply need numbers in that position.

And most importantly, because if they sign him permanently in January, they won’t be risking him having a stormer for the rest of the season, and another club poaching him from under their noses.

But one thing is for sure, after years of his development being stunted, Atsu is starting to look quite the prospect at Newcastle and it looks like a place he wants to finally call home.