In May 2017, Ghana international Christian Atsu signed a four-year deal to join Newcastle United from Chelsea FC for a fee of £6.2 million on the back of a good loan campaign with the Magpies the previous season.
After 3 seasons with the club, Christian Atsu’s playing time has gradually dwindled and looks set to continue as the 2020/2021 English Football season takes off this weekend.
The forward is indeed determined to put in the work to fight for a place in the team of manager Steve Bruce. But could it be time for the Black Stars winger to move on to a new club?
Certainly, the idea has been backed by a portion of the Ghanaian media, some coaches, and football pundits who hope to see the winger playing regularly continuously.
At the end of the 2018/2019 season, Christian Atsu managed a total of 32 games in all competitions while missing 10 games in the English Premier League in the process, coming through with 1 goal and no assists.
Having started just 16 matches, the contributions of the pacey forward was minimal and saw him finish with an average rating of 6.5 from Modernghana Sports partners SofaScore.
The in-depth statistics provided by SofaScore no doubt confirms Christian Atsu did not have his best season that year.
In the subsequent 2019/2020 football season, he sought to redeem himself and prove why he is better than those numbers.
Unfortunately, the signing of French forward Allan Saint-Maximin meant that Atsu’s playing time at Newcastle will further reduce.
The 28-year old only played in 28 matches in all competitions, starting in just 8 games throughout the campaign, and meriting close to the same average rating from the previous season.
He will continue to fight for a place in the first eleven with Matt Ritchie and Allan Saint-Maximin as well as new signing Ryan Fraser who just arrived from Championship side AFC Bournemouth.
With the 2020/2021 English Premier League season starting this weekend, the chances of Christian Atsu gaining more playing time at Newcastle United shrinks even more when assessing the squad at the disposal of manager Steve Bruce.
Surely, the Black Stars forward will get to play if he does not move, but at his level and at this point in his career, he should be an integral part of a team and possibly playing his best football.
In the midst of the ongoing summer transfer window, sources say there is interest in Christian Atsu from Turkish and Scottish top-flight clubs.
It is unclear what the window holds for the Ghana winger. Probably he stays or he moves, time will tell.
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