Newcastle’s new owners made the decision to sack manager Steve Bruce last month after just over two years at the helm on Tyneside.
The ex-Sunderland and Aston Villa coach was relieved of his duties after failing to pick up a win in the Premier League, with Eddie Howe recently being named as his permanent successor following a short stint from Graeme Jones as interim head coach.
Along the way, a number of Newcastle players regressed and decreased in value as Bruce was unable to kick the club on and push them towards a fight for top-half finishes.
Time’s up
One player we recently suggested Howe should axe from the team, Ciaran Clark, is one of those. His development has been stunted in recent years and he is now on a downwards trend. This means that it could be his time to be sold in the January transfer window, or next summer ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
Should Newcastle sell Clark?
Yes
No
When Bruce was appointed as Newcastle manager in the summer of 2019, the Ireland international was valued at £5.4m by Transfermarkt. Under Rafa Benitez, his value increased from £4.05m as the Spaniard got the best out of the defender, but Bruce was unable to continue the former Liverpool coach’s good work.
The £42k-per-week defender has averaged a dismal SofaScore rating of 6.66 in the Premier League this season, down from the 6.80 he managed last term. In the 2020/21 campaign, he only completed 64% of his passes into the opposition half and helped Newcastle keep three clean sheets in 22 league matches.
At the time of writing (14/11/21), Transfermarkt value Clark at £2.7m. This means that his value plummeted by 50% in just two years under Bruce, having gone up by over £1m during Benitez’s tenure at St. James’ Park. His failure to help the Magpies keep a tight defence and his lapse passing may have contributed to his loss of value, with Bruce unable to get a tune out of the ex-Villa man.
He has already proven himself to be a liability this season, giving a penalty away and failing to keep a single clean sheet in nine games. As a result of his foolish challenge that gave away a spot-kick against Brighton, Toon legend Alan Shearer said: “First of all, it’s a stupid challenge from Clark, he should never make that challenge there.”
Bruce set him on this slope and it remains to be seen whether or not Howe will be able to get him back to his best. Sadly, that’s why his time on Tyneside could be up; Newcastle have to cash in on him before his value drops further.
AND in other news, Eddie Howe could seal Newcastle masterstroke with £10m deal for Ben Arfa 2.0…