Far away from idle transfer speculation and the hype of the Tyne-Wear derby, £13M summer signing Florian Thauvin practices free-kick after free-kick at Newcastle’s Benton training ground long after the group training session has finished.
His quest for the perfect set-piece has been likened to that of England rugby Union’s World Cup-winning golden boy, Jonny Wilkinson, whose mentor, Steve Black, is now Newcastle’s motivator-in-chief.
Thauvin is the last of McClaren’s four “assassins” to prove his worth since signing in the summer and he is waiting for his chance to make his mark. Sunday could be a chance to shine for a player Newcastle’s Head Coach says will “definitely come good”, telling The Chronicle:
“He’s a good kid and he’s got ability.
“That’s what we saw, which I think was important, in the first couple of games.
“Some players come to the Premier League and adjust very quickly, while some take their time.
“He’s possibly one that needs to take their time.”
A timely free-kick winner in Sunday’s derby could change everything. Newcastle haven’t scored direct from a free-kick since Yohan Cabaye’s last-ever kick for the club – in January, 2014 before his move to Paris St Germain for £20M – against a West Ham side managed by Sunderland’s new boss Sam Allardyce.
And the last time the Magpies won a Tyne-Wear derby, it was thanks to a dead ball from Ryan Taylor, whose nickname, “Over The Wall” is forever etched in Geordie folklore thanks to a 62nd minute effort at The Stadium of Light in 2011.
Unlike the eight-goal thriller at St. James’ Park on Sunday when Newcastle annihilated Norwich 6-2, the Tyne-Wear derby is normally a tense and tight affair with three of the last four meetings between the sides decided by a single goal.
Thauvin is the man who could decide the big occasion at high noon on Sunday, an U21 international described by Arsene Wenger as “one of the big prospects of French football”.
It might have been the dream start to life in English football when on his Premier League debut at Old Trafford, after showing Luke Shaw a clean pair of heels with the acceleration and trickery he is renowned for back home, he almost scored a late winner in a goalless draw.
Against Wenger’s Arsenal, he ploughed a lonely furrow up front at St James’ Park after Aleksandar Mitrovic was dismissed. His switching of play against Watford set up the move for Daryl Janmaat’s goal against The Hornets yet he’s been frozen out ever since as Steve McClaren sought to find a winning formula.
With many wide, attacking talents at McClaren’s disposal from Thauvin to Gini Wijnaldum, Moussa Sissoko to Ronaldo Aarons, the unpredictable use of them could be the greatest weapon in the Newcastle Head Coach’s arsenal.
Thauvin is uniquely equipped to influence a tight game with his great dead-ball delivery both from direct efforts on goal and corners and free-kicks as in evidence against Northampton in The League Cup, when he set up goals for Siem De Jong and Mike Williamson in a 4-1 win in which he opened the scoring.
With one of the best headers of the ball around in Aleksandar Mitrovic, a floated free-kick to the Serbian destroyer could be the magic Magpies moment on Sunday.
Heroes have been made in derby games and reputations salvaged.
It’s very early days in Thauvin’s Newcastle United career yet already the knives are out. Alan Shearer criticised him on Match of the Day for wearing a tuxedo to the match and ex-Magpie Steve Howey for messing with his hair.
Stories are circulating about his apparent wish to leave the club in January yet such talk is wide of the mark. Having already played for both Marseille and Newcastle this season, Thauvin would be club-tied the way Hatem Ben Arfa was last season as FIFA rules dictate a player can only turn out competitively for two different clubs in a season, not three.
Steve McClaren sees Thauvin as a considerable asset and a player with flair and style both on and off the pitch – arriving in Town with girlfriend Miss Cote d’Azur 2014 Charlotte Pirroni – can only be good for a club associated with entertainment and glamour although scoring worldies on the pitch might serve him better.
Practice makes perfect, however, as he told The Mirror of his dedication to his dead ball craft:
“I’m not sure exactly how many I take every day, but until I’m happy I don’t leave the pitch.
“I work very hard every single day to try and achieve the perfect free kick – and I don’t stop until I have got it right.”
Critics of Newcastle’s foreign-based scouting policy are notable by their absence this week after Mitrovic smashed in The Premier League Goal of the Week and Gini Wijnaldum scored four glorious goals to steam to 5th top of SKY Sports’ Power Rankings.
Thauvin is currently the only ‘unproven’ quantity among Newcastle’s summer buys with Chancel Mbemba adapting quickly in the main to life in England and having that point to prove only makes him a more dangerous player.
Whether it’s the right move to change a winning team and throw him into a derby from the start is debatable, yet Thauvin’s hammer could certainly come on and make a memorable difference from the bench against Sunderland’s tiring legs to truly free-kick start his career on Tyneside and join Geordie mythology.
