Harry Redknapp explains why he’s picked out this particular Newcastle United star

3 months ago 33

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Harry Redknapp has picked his best 11 performers from the weekend’s action.

The Premier League team of the weekend that has most impressed him.

Included in his top 11 is one stand out player from Newcastle United’s 1-0 victory over Southampton.

Harry Redknapp explaining to BetVictor why he chose this Newcastle United star amongst his Premier League team of the week:

Here we go, my first Team of the Week of the new season!

In goal is someone who has been in my side plenty of times before, Nick Pope.

He’s been a top keeper for a while now, and he was vital in Newcastle’s 1-0 win over Southampton.

It’s never easy to bounce back from seeing your centre-half get a red card, but what a big win that was for them.

The less said about the play-acting from Ben Brereton Diaz the better though!

I really like Rico Lewis at Manchester City, what an intelligent player he is. Pep Guardiola has used him in all sorts of positions and he never lets the side down. It shows just how good a player he is that Pep trusts him so much. This could be a big season for him.

Alongside him, Ruben Dias was top class as usual in City’s 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea had a few half-chances, but they never really looked like scoring. This guy has been such a brilliant signing for City over the last couple of seasons.

Lisandro Martinez seems to have his critics but he’s a very good defender. He might not be the biggest, but he reads the game superbly, he’s excellent on the ball and he’s got so much fight and heart. He missed far too many games for Manchester United last season, no wonder they struggled so much. He played a big part in keeping the clean sheet to beat Fulham on the opening night.

Young Jack Hinshelwood is another one, a bit like Lewis, who seems to play everywhere. He played left-back for Brighton at the weekend, and I thought he did a great job against a tricky winger in Jack Harrison. It was an excellent performance from Brighton to win 3-0 at Everton, and he was at the heart of it.

We’ll start in midfield with Mateo Kovacic. All the money Chelsea have spent on midfielders and he comes back and scores against them, you can’t write it! Kovacic has always been a classy player and probably goes under the radar. It’s strange because you look at the clubs he’s played for and what he’s done at club and international level, but he doesn’t seem to get much acknowledgement.

Amadou Onana looks like a great signing for Aston Villa. He was a real shining light for Everton last season and with Douglas Luiz no longer at the club, he’ll be the main man for Villa this year. To start with a goal and a win on your debut was just the icing on the cake for him.

Bukayo Saka was at his very best in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Wolves. He scored one and assisted the other, you can’t exactly do much more than that! It’s been a great summer for him, he’s probably one of the few England players who played at their best at the Euros. He looks ready to take Arsenal to the title this season.

I don’t think people appreciate Mohamed Salah enough. Game after game, year after year, he delivers. He was terrific again as Liverpool beat Ipswich 2-0. Aside from his goal, his general play was excellent, and he created the opener for Diogo Jota. Some of his passing was terrific, that’s always been an aspect of his game that I don’t think he gets the credit for.

I’m a big fan of Bryan Mbeumo at Brentford, he was a real handful for Crystal Palace on Sunday. He’s got a lovely left foot and whether it’s out wide or through the middle, he’s so direct and such a threat. Him and Yoane Wissa seem to link up really well together and with all these reports coming out about Ivan Toney’s future, they’ll need more from that partnership. They’ll obviously miss Toney if he does end up going but this lad has shown he can fill the void.

Finally, I’ve got to pick Danny Welbeck, he was brilliant against Everton. He provided a lovely finish, created the third and held the ball up brilliantly. He’s always been such an underrated striker in my eyes, he works his socks off. Every credit to the lad for still doing it at this level at his age, that’s now 15 straight Premier League seasons that he’s scored in, good on him. He’s my star man this week.

Stats via BBC Sport:

Newcastle 1 Southampton 0 – Saturday 17 August 3pm

Goals:

Newcastle United:

Schar red card 28, Joelinton 45

Southampton:

(Half-time stats in brackets)

Possession was Newcastle 22% (27%) Southampton 78% (73%)

Total shots were Newcastle 3 (3) Southampton 19 (4)

Shots on target were Newcastle 1 (1) Southampton 5 (1)

Corners were Newcastle 3 (3) Southampton 12 (1)

Touches in the box Newcastle 16 (11) Southampton 48 (8)