OPINION
When you ask a Newcastle United fan to name their best starting XI, right-back DeAndre Yedlin no doubt features amongst the names.
However, the 25-year-old has not been in his best form of late and has recently been replaced in the starting line-up by Javier Manquillo.
Manquillo is a name the fans do not have the fondest memories of, and if you had said that he would start ahead of Yedlin at this stage of the season, many fans would have just laughed in your face.
Nevertheless, Yedlin really has some work to do, and he must raise his game as soon as possible to prevent his place in the starting XI being compromised even further.
Yedlin himself even admitted that he needs to rediscover his previous form in order to get back into the first team – and he could not be more right.
“Yes, 100 per cent [I can’t expect to walk straight back into the team]. Credit to the lads, they won [at Huddersfield], and I would never expect to change a winning team,” he said, as quoted by the Chronicle.
Yedlin is spot on – he cannot just expect to walk straight back into the team when he has not been performing at his best.
Rafa Benitez will not hesitate to show his ruthless side by wielding the axe on the American international permanently if he cannot show that he is deserving of a place ahead of Manquillo, who has actually surprised many with his assured displays recently.
The chopping block will surely beckon for the £30,000-a-week [Spotrac] mainstay if Manquillo continues to start ahead of him.
Yedlin is infamous for his speedy runs along the flanks, but before his red card against Wolves, that side of his game was no where to be seen, which is a shame when you consider the damage he caused Manchester City a while ago.
Yedlin needs to raise his game as soon as possible, or the chopping block will surely beckon for him at Newcastle.