Florian Thauvin scored his first goal for Newcastle United on his home debut for the club, as the Tyneside club registered a 4-1 victory over Northampton Town in the Capital One Cup. The £12 million signing from Marseille played on the left side of the field and made a huge impression throughout his hour on the pitch to ensure his new team’s safe passage to the third round of the cup competition.
With plenty of pace to burn and a good dribble, the attacking midfielder has been dubbed as the next ‘Ribery’ by many and he took just three minutes to find the net after kick-off. The move began when Rolando Aarons collected the ball on the left and showed some nifty footwork to bamboozle the defenders.
He then proceeded to back-heel the ball into the path of Massadio Haidara, who launched a teasing first-time cross into the box for Florian to beat his defender and score a quality volley goal.
This is the second appearance for the Frenchman since his move to England, with his first being a 21-minute substitute cameo in Newcastle’s 0-0 draw against Manchester United in the Premier League.
He was one of nine changes to the Newcastle line-up ahead of the league cup fixture against the fourth division side, and his performance impressed many as he constantly showed a willingness to get forward and make something happen.
The 22-year-old signing was Steve McClaren’s fifth of the window, after the purchases of Northampton Town Forward Ivan Toney, PSV midfielder Georgino Wijnaldum, Anderlecht defender Chancel Mbemba and their striker Aleksandar Mitrovic. Based on what he’s shown so far, it won’t be surprising to see him make his first Premier League start when Arsenal visit them at the St James Park.