Newcastle boss Steve Bruce has come under fire after taking a pop at Joelinton's goalscoring exploits.
The Brazilian was signed in the summer for a club-record £40m from Hoffenheim.
The Magpies hardly are big spenders so for them to splash the cash was unusual, but encouraging for fans.
However, Joelinton has struggled at the club, managing just one goal in the Premier League in 27 appearances.
And Bruce seemed to suggest that the striker was not a natural goalscorer.
Bruce said: "The great strikers, the goalscorers, all they're interested in is scoring a goal – Joe is not like that. He is more a team player.
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Steve Bruce makes head scratching assessment of £40m Newcastle striker Joelinton
"He has to be a bit more selfish. He has to think about himself more and score a goal.
"He doesn't get himself in the positions enough, that's something we're working on.
"But you can put on as many finishing drills as you want, unfortunately Joe will be measured by one thing – goals."
And Sky Sports pundit Matt Le Tissier took aim at Bruce for his comments for being too honest.
“To be honest, one goal in the Premier League in February, you probably couldn't have any complaints about it,” Le Tissier told Sky Sports.
“I mean it's probably something you would not want to hear said.
“But sometimes you have to face reality, and the reality is, his goalscoring record is nowhere near good enough for him to be considered a natural goalscorer.
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"There is always that argument if a goalscorer isn't scoring goals [that he's being used in the wrong manner].
“Are the team creating enough chances for him? So, you would have to look more deeply into the numbers in terms of big chances that he may have missed.
"They don't create huge chances for him, so you can maybe give him a little bit of a pass. But Steve Bruce is only being honest.”
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