Florian Thauvin's "Great Delivery" Is Going To Be Vital For Newcastle, Believes McClaren

The Frenchman scored and grabbed three assists as NUFC beat Northampton 4-1 In the Capital One Cup.

Florian Thauvin scored a goal inside 180 seconds, provided three assists and then left the field after 65 minutes to a St James€™ Park standing ovation as Newcastle beat Northampton 4-1 in the Capital One Cup second round.

The Frenchman announced his arrival within three minutes of his home debut when he acrobatically poked the ball home Massadio Haidara's cross. Five minutes later the 22-year-old's cross found Siem de Jong€™s head who put the ball past Ryan Clarke.

In the second half, the former Marseille winger formed a telepathic read with Daryl Janmaat down the right hand channel and his perfectly weighted pass led to the Dutchman slotting the ball into the net. Less than ten-minutes later, Thauvin's free-kick picked out Mike Williamson who headed in the forth.

Steve McClaren was impressed by his new signing's contribution and spoke highly of the winger during his post-game press conference.

He told the Shields Gazette:

€œI thought he was very good when he came on, even for 10 minutes, at Old Trafford and showed his quality.

€œHe has been terrific in training.

€œYou never know what to expect €“ you have seen a lot of him, but he is confident, he has got great ability, but the key thing is he can score and he can assist, and that€™s a big asset for us.

€œWhat pleased me was that attacking-wise, we looked more of a threat than we have done in previous games, and the squad is come together very nicely €“ and I emphasis the word €˜squad€™."

Thauvin was brilliant last night and will have put himself in strong contention for a first team place against Arsenal this Saturday (Kick-off 12.45pm).

The Toon boss added:

€œGreat delivery €“ that€™s going to be vital, very important.

€œYou can have tall men and all the good headers in the world, but if you don€™t get delivery, you get nothing.

€œYou saw, his (Thauvin€™s) delivery is excellent, so he can score and assist and do the work.

€œThat€™s what he can do.€

Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-accredited football writer with an MA in Sports Journalism. What Culture football editor. Write for the official Newcastle United programme. Former video reporter at North News. Featured and published in the Sunderland Echo, Shields Gazette, Mail Online, The Mirror, The Sun and others.