Siem De Jong Is Newcastle United's Only Survival Hope

Siem de Jong has made just four appearances for Newcastle United, including two as a substitute, and he only returned at the weekend following a seven-month injury lay-off - yet the Dutch attacking-midfielder is the Magpies' best hope for Premier League survival. Signed from Ajax last summer for £6 million, the six-cap Dutch international was supposed to form part of the spine of the Newcastle side this term but he has managed just 116 minutes of Premier League action in all - and who knows where the Magpies may have been had they had their midfielder out on the park every week. In just 17 minutes (plus four minutes of injury-time) against Swansea City, De Jong offered more of an aerial threat, more creativity, more leadership and, most crucially, more of a goal threat than the rest of the Newcastle team combined. His goal after 87 minutes was dispatched with aplomb. A delightful cross from Jack Colback out on the left-hand side landed perfectly for De Jong, who made his finish look deceptively easy as he side-footed a volley across Lukasz Fabianski. This is one of the many things that Newcastle United have been lacking in recent months - the far-too-often-used cliché that goals win matches is also a reality. With just 11 goals in their last 15 games, the Magpies cannot hope to survive if they cannot find the back of the net with greater regularity - and, although Papiss Cissé's eventual return against West Bromwich Albion will bring a finisher into the Newcastle starting line-up, they need even more of a threat than this. It shows just how far Newcastle's stock and form has fallen that a player who has played less than 120 minutes of Premier League football in his entire career makes them look an immeasurably better side when he comes on off the bench. To be fair he does have a brilliant pedigree - having netted 78 times in 244 appearances for Ajax, and twice from six matches for Holland - but it is still extremely worrying. Unlike his brother, Luuk, whose six-month loan spell at St James' Park was an unmitigated disaster, Siem de Jong looks to have settled into life at the North East well - and that despite having suffered both a serious thigh injury and then a collapsed lung.

At 6ft 1ins, De Jong is tall and powerful - and he seemed to win more balls in the air in 17 minutes than any other offensive Newcastle player did in the entire 90. Holding the ball up in an advanced position offers respite to the hapless Magpies defence, and De Jong can hopefully start providing this. In an ideal world, the Dutchman would not be rushed back into the Magpies starting line-up until he was fully fit and he would therefore be reintegrated slowly - but this is not an ideal world. Newcastle are facing the very-real prospect of relegation to the Championship, and their best players need to be out on the pitch. De Jong must be in the starting XI at the King Power Stadium for the match against Leicester City. The one positive that came out of the loss to Swansea was his goal-scoring return - and, with the Foxes bound to find the back of the net on Saturday, the Magpies must respond in kind. De Jong offers them the opportunity to take the game to Leicester, rather than sit back and be picked off. It really has come down to this simple equation: De Jong could be the difference between Newcastle remaining in the Premier League, he really is that important to them right now. For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow WhatCultureNUFC on Twitter and Facebook.