Whilst the beginning of the 2015/16 campaign has been rather mixed for Newcastle United following a spirited draw against Southampton and a defeat against Swansea City, it has been a very different story in the Midlands for United’s fringe player Adam Armstrong. Currently on loan at Coventry City until 16th January 2016, Armstrong has fired the Sky Blues to the summit of the League One table.
Five goals in three games is an impressive record at any professional level but for an 18-year old it is quite remarkable. The maturity and composure, as well as the genuine skill that Armstrong has shown in his short stint at the Ricoh Arena has been excellent, leading to Coventry boss Tony Mowbray wondering how the young forward can’t get in the United first team. Understandably, it’s highly likely that the rich vein of goal scoring form Armstrong is currently enjoying will come to an end, but he has certainly made an impact since securing his loan deal. Many will anticipate the goals to soon dry up, but with momentum and support from the sidelines as well as on the training pitch, and we could see a Newcastle United loanee be a success for once. The likes of Haris Vuckic and Mehdi Abeid in recent times at Rangers and Panathinaikos respectively, has seen the loanees excel at the lower level but fail to cut it given the chance back in England. Vuckic looks to be heading for the exit door, seemingly to reunite with former United youth player James Tavernier at Rangers, whilst Abeid is also at the forefront of transfer speculation with his Greek loan side and German outfit Fortuna Dusseldorf allegedly expressing interest.
The desire to retain Armstrong however may be greater, considering he is a homegrown talent from the local area whose career goal will be to lead the line for Newcastle United in the future, having done so at various England youth levels and now at Coventry City. It is not a surprise that Armstrong has been making waves at Coventry, as his youth international record stands out above the rest, netting 10 goals in 12 outings for the U17 side, and now nine goals in nine appearances for the U18 England team, as well as being named captain.
A bright future lies ahead for Armstrong if he can keep his feet on the ground and build on his extraordinary start to life in a Sky Blue shirt. An outpouring of support from fans of parent club Newcastle is only going to propel the number nine onto greater things, hopefully adding more goals and valuable match experience. The Geordie’s goal scoring repertoire is already showing signs of variety, with a cool breakaway run and finish on his Coventry debut opening his account, whilst in the 4-0 demolition of Millwall at the weekend, two sublime finishes really made the rest of the Football League sit up and take notice, as a sumptuous 35-yard chip sailed into the Millwall net, shortly followed by a delightful dink over the onrushing Millwall goalkeeper. Cool, calm and collected is certainly what could be used to describe the England youth international’s start to life in the Midlands, and while it may be a short stay it definitely is not the last we have seen of Adam Armstrong. Expect more headlines, more mature performances and an ever-increasing goals tally in League One for the Newcastle loanee.
Upon returning to Tyneside, whether it be in January as is originally proposed, or at the end of the season if Coventry choose to extend the loan, Armstrong will definitely have caught the eye of Steve McClaren and his coaches, doing him no harm in staking a claim for a solid place in the first team. The absence of Emmanuel Rivière, inconsistency of Papiss Cissé and unpredictability of Aleksandar Mitrović, could see Armstrong waltz into the the matchday squad, and finally see him open his Newcastle United account after an invaluable string of appearances, goals and experiences in League zone.
Photo Courtesy Getty Images
