He never quite showed it at Newcastle United, but it was always believed that Adam Armstrong had bundles of ability.
Alan Pardew called him the best finisher at the club when he was just an U-23 talent trying to get recognised at first-team level, however we’re starting to see why based on his stunning form for Blackburn.
Only ONE player in English football has been involved in more goals in 2020 than him (11), with him bagging 14 goals and 7 assists in all competitions for a mid-table Rovers side.
He’s played out wide, up top and in the no.10 role this season, making his involvement in 21 goals in an ordinary side an impressive one, with this strike below in Blackburn’s weekend defeat to Leeds being his latest stunner:
I was keen to see him given one more loan stint in the second tier before we cashed in, yet few could really complain when Rafa Benitez decided to cash in two years ago.
A few seasons later, the £1.75m fee Blackburn paid seems like a snip, with The Chronicle also revealing that several Premier League scouts have been watching him over the second half of the 2019/20 season.
Like EFL goal machine Ivan Toney and Swiss star Kevin Mbabu, there’s an argument to say he’s another young talent we sold too soon and managed poorly, however you could also argue this breakthrough season and brilliant form was only ever going to come once he was given a new home and proper chance to prove himself week in, week out.
Either way, it’s great to see a local lad showing what he can really do a few years on from his NUFC exit – even if it makes you wonder why we sold him so soon!
