OPINION
Newcastle United desperately need some help on the wings this season, and manager Rafael Benitez should already be narrowing down his list of targets for the January transfer window.
One name that should stand out for the Spaniard is Joe Lolley. The Nottingham Forest winger has been superb this campaign, and he added another excellent performance to his résumé against Hull City on Saturday.
The 26-year-old produced another tremendous display as he scored the second goal in Forest’s 2-0 victory over Nigel Adkins’ side.
He is exactly what the Magpies need. Kenedy has been inconsistent this term, while none of Matt Ritchie, Christian Atsu or Jacob Murphy have really set the world alight at St James’ Park.
Lolley, by contrast, could. He is an exciting player who gets the fans off their feet. He is an old fashioned, pacy winger who picks the ball up and goes past his man, invariably creating a moment of danger for the opposition.
His form this season has been scintillating. Through 22 games this campaign he has netted six times while providing three assists. Those are numbers which are clearly far superior to any produced by Newcastle’s wingers this term.
Lolley’s ability to pick the ball up and run with it is something that isn’t seen very often on Tyneside. Kenedy does it occasionally but the Brazilian is so unpredictable that you wonder whether he knows what he’s going to do at any given moment.
Lolley provides consistency and an end product – two traits that are scarce in this current Magpies team. Benitez needs to get more goals from his midfielders and a January move for Lolley could see him achieve that aim.
If he doesn’t make a move quickly then another top flight manager will soon notice the consistently fantastic performances that the Forest man is putting in on a week-to-week basis.