How Newcastle United Can Get the Best out of Facundo Ferreyra

Young Argentina forward Facundo Ferreyra has proved on more than one occasion that he is a top prospect. But so far in his fledgling career "Chucky" has failed to settle; a loan move to the Premier League with Newcastle United after leaving Shakhtar Donetsk in the wake of the Malaysia Airlines disaster is just the latest new start for the wandering striker. 

Anyone who has seen Ferreyra since his first steps in professional football, representing Banfield, marked him out for big things. A subsequent move to local heavyweights Velez Sarsfield showed for the first time what would become a hallmark of the youngster: the stuttering start. 

Injury and poor form interrupted the player's integration in Liniers, but once he got going he was a force to be reckoned with. As The Guardian's Jonathan Wilson pointed out, a brilliant hat-trick away to 2012's defending Clausura champions Arsenal de Sarandi was all Ferreyra needed to subsequently break loose and finish joint top-scorer in the Apertura competition. 

The key to making him tick, then, does exist. But what do Newcastle have to do in order to unlock the 23-year-old striker's full potential? 

Ricardo Mazalan/Associated Press

To start with, they could try actually putting him on the pitch. Ferreyra has yet to play a single minute of Newcastle's Premier League campaign, overlooked by manager Alan Pardew in favour of burly ex-Monaco man Emmanuel Riviere and, off the bench, Ayoze Perez. The Argentine has not even made it into Pardew's 18-man matchday squad, and results would suggest something is going wrong at St. James' Park. 

Newcastle currently lie rock-bottom of the Premier League, with just two points out of a possible 12 and having finished without a goal in three of their four outings this season. It is frankly a pathetic return. Riviere and Perez have failed to hit the net once between them, and while it is far from solely the strikers' fault it would appear clear that an injection of fresh blood up front could hardly fare worse for the Magpies. 

Ferreyra may have to wait a little longer for his bow. The South Shields Gazzette reported that a back injury ruled him out of the 4-0 drubbing to Southampton that piled further pressure on Pardew's shoulders, although it should be a minor knock. But if he does get the chance, the manager must utilise his Argentine youngster efficiently. 

The centre-forward is no shrinking violet when it comes to physical play, growing up as he did among the Primera Division's bloodthirsty centre-backs who are all too happy to cut a presumptious prospect down to size. But the rough and tumble is not his strongest suit. 

Ferreyra plays most effectively on the shoulder of a target man, such as Lucas Pratto, who possessed in Velez both the strength on the ball and intelligent distribution to release his partner towards goal to brilliant effect. Up front on his own or out wide, as demonstrated with Shakhtar Donetsk, Chucky can become frustrated and isolated, drifting out of the game. 

It would be a giant leap to suggest that the striker is the answer to beleaguered Newcastle fans' prayers. But if he can be incorporated into the squad, surrounded by a team committed to short, intelligent passing and efficient use of the ball, Ferreyra at least has a chance of contributing with a handful of the goals that the Magpies sorely need even at such an early stage of the season.