Elias Sorensen wasn’t deemed enough of a ‘team player’ during his loan disastrous loan spells with Blackpool and Carlisle, according to Lee Ryder.
The 20-year-old Dane is now back on Tyneside with our U-23 set up, with us cutting short his last TWO loan stints after he made just ONE start at Carlisle and played barely 30 minutes of football in three months at Blackpool.
As a result, Ryder claims the club are urging him to work on his ‘defending from the front’ and ‘tracking back’ – feeling he still as ‘a lot to learn’.
When asked why Bruce has been so reluctant to play Sorensen while Joelinton has been close to ‘burn out’ as our only fit striker, here’s what Lee Ryder had to say:
‘Sorensen is deemed too much of a gamble.
‘The club are trying to get him to brush up on other areas of his game such as defending from the front and tracking back.
‘They want him to be more of a team player and it’s the reason why Carlisle and Blackpool didn’t carry him during loan spells.
‘Newcastle still feel he has a lot to learn.‘
Sorensen may have bagged 20+ goals in all competitions at U-23 level last season, but it nightmare stints in the Football League suggest he still has a long way to go if he’s to make it at senior level.
As a result, it’s easy to see why Steve Bruce is yet to consider him at first-team level – even when Joelinton has been out of sorts and Carroll, Gayle and Muto injured.
I’m all for seeing youngsters get their chance, but I’ve always been a little baffled by the odd fan who’ve called up BBC Radio Newcastle urging Bruce to give him a chance at first-team level.
He showed early promise at youth level, but I don’t know what gives people the idea he’s ready for Premier League football when his last taste of senior action was him struggling to make the bench for a mid-table League Two side.
Hopefully he can up his fitness levels, become more of a team player and make a success of his next loan move wherever that may be.
After two awful spells away from St James’ Park, it’s fair to say his third stint will be a vital one for him in one way or another!
