Jamaal Lascelles has revealed that he has personally taken Joelinton aside to pay tribute to his 'tough' Newcastle United team-mate after the Brazilian's remarkable turnaround at the club.
Joelinton had a testing first couple of years at Newcastle following his club-record move from Hoffenheim, but the 25-year-old has looked a completely different player since Eddie Howe came in last November. As well as playing with renewed belief, Joelinton has been reborn as a combative midfielder under the head coach after embracing a change of position.
However, given Joelinton's versatility, Howe has been keen not to pigeonhole the £40m man as a midfielder after his previous success as a forward with Hoffenheim. Indeed, last month's 3-0 win against Norwich City was a reminder of what Joelinton can do in the final third after the number seven scored two goals while playing as a left winger.
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The away end repeatedly chanted Joelinton's name at Carrow Road that afternoon and Joelinton was, unsurprisingly, the last player off the pitch at full-time as Newcastle fans sang: 'He's Brazilian - he only cost £40 million!' By that stage, Lascelles had already given Joelinton an impromptu pep talk.
"I said to him after the game, as we were going to clap the fans, how tough of an individual he is," the club captain wrote in his programme notes last week. "After coming here, wearing the No 9 shirt, probably playing out of position and receiving some of the criticism he received, to completely transform the way he's playing - to the point where he's such a key player for us now - just goes to show how tough he is. He kept working and he kept grinding."
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