Nico Gonzalez made his Newcastle United debut in the 2-0 win away to Tottenham Hotspur.
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Nico Gonzalez announced himself in Newcastle United colours as an impressive debut ended in a 2-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur.
The Spanish midfielder had just two training sessions with his new teammates after joining from Manchester City for £50million on Wednesday night but was thrown straight into the starting XI.
And the 24-year-old played a major role in the Magpies’ opener, spraying a 60-yard pass into the path of Amar Dedic, who nodded the ball into Anthony Elanga’s path before the winger’s shot went in via the inside of the post.
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Matthias Jaissle delighted with Nico Gonzalez’s debut
“Great debut, not easy for a player just joining after a transfer,” Newcastle boss Matthias Jaissle told NewcastleWorld.
“You know also there's a human being behind if you leave a club and if you're joining a new club, therefore I really, really think he did amazing and we're looking forward to seeing more from him.”
Gonzalez was replaced by Sean Steur in the 71st minute and had barely sat down on the bench when Yoane Wissa added a second to secure United’s first Premier League win of the season .
Jaissle added: “He showed that already today, that he can play both [long and short passes]. It is important that we are versatile, otherwise it would be too easy for our opponents to read what we are doing.
“So that's what I said also previously, that in the second half we found a good balance between staying in possession, also dominating the game in that phase, but also threatening them if there is any space behind.
“Nico was a big element in that, but also then Sean Steur when he jumped in and all the other substitutions, they were straight away in the game, really, really reliable.
“We could count on them, and that was the reason why we were winning that game today.”
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Nico Gonzalez v Sandro Tonali
Gonzalez came up against one of the players he was signed to replace in Sandro Tonali, who joined Spurs for £100million earlier this summer. The Italian was booed by the travelling Newcastle fans and jeered when he was substituted in the closing stages.
However, Jaissle would not be drawn into commenting on Tonali’s performance when asked about the midfield battle between the pair.
“It's not my part to make comparisons,” he said. “For me, it was just a really good debut from Nico, really well done for the first match, and I'm looking forward to seeing more from him.
“It would not be smart if I'm telling him right now and then in the media that that was already his full potential.”