Newcastle United journalist Liam Kennedy believes that the club are happy with Joelinton after his adaptation to life in England.

The striker has struggled at times during his time with the Magpies and has not exactly been a prolific presence up front.

The Brazilian made 31 appearances in the Premier League last season and scored just four goals, while providing two assists.

It remains to be seen how many minutes the 24-year-old will have this term, after Callum Wilson was signed from Bournemouth last summer.

But Kennedy believes that the club are confident he has the ability to provide proper back-up to Wilson this season, after showing signs of improvement in the back-end of the season.

He said: “Joelinton is a player who is starting to get used to the physical aspect of the English game. And I think from March onwards last year, we actually started to see a player where you’d say ‘he can add value to the team’, so I think they’re okay with having him as a stand-in.”

Joelinton has scored a total of 10 goals in 80 games for the club, and has never hit double figures in a single campaign, while also laying on seven assists.

Steve Bruce’s side begin their season against West Ham United this weekend.