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Watch out Fernandez-Pardo: Newcastle have an immense teenage striker

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Published Sep 30, 2026, 7:15 AM GMT+1

Angus is an experienced football writer at Football FanCast, specialising in analytical reporting, opinion and feature writing, with particular expertise in Liverpool, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur.

A journalist since graduating from Southampton Solent University in 2022, Angus has built extensive experience across the football media industry. Before joining Football FanCast, he led VAVEL's Brighton & Hove Albion department, developing experience in club-specific reporting and editorial leadership.

Angus joined Football FanCast through Snack Media's (now Valnet) academy and has since become one of the site's longest-serving writers, progressing into the Opinions and Features team. During his time with Football FanCast, he has produced thousands of articles across a broad range of Premier League clubs and stories.

His work combines analytical reporting, informed opinion and detailed feature writing, with a particular focus on understanding the factors behind performances, transfers and major developments rather than simply reporting the headline. His strongest areas of expertise are Liverpool, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, although his extensive Premier League coverage has given him a broad understanding of the English top flight.

Angus brings readers experienced, research-led football analysis and considered opinion, using his years of covering the Premier League to provide context, assess players and transfers, and explain what the latest developments mean for clubs and their ambitions.

Last year, Newcastle United chief executive David Hopkinson said the club have rolled out a five-year plan to establish the Magpies as being "in the debate about being the top club in the world".

The plan, then, is for Newcastle to be challenging for the Premier League and the Champions League each and every year, but last year's retro-regression under Eddie Howe will have tempered such ambitions - or at the very least, made it far more difficult for the Toon to realise their ambitions in such a small window.

This summer's exodus in the transfer market has knocked Newcastle down a peg. They slumped to a 12th-place finish in the Premier League, now poached of all the talent which led to title-winning success and a dynasty in Howe's name.

Some superstar names might have gone, but under Matthias Jaissle, Newcastle are preparing for the future, and the late-window signing of Matias Fernandez-Pardo emphasises Newcastle's ambition to climb to the very top.

Why Fernandez-Pardo is tipped for greatness

It's been an imperfect start to life at Newcastle for Fernandez-Pardo, who joined Newcastle from LOSC Lille for around £50m at the end of summer.

The dynamic forward believes he has the skillset to make the No. 9 berth his own at St. James' Park, but his electric pace and lack of physicality (right now) have led some to question whether the wing might be a better zone for him to work from.

Matias Fernandez-Pardo - Career Stats by Position

Position

Apps

Goals + Assists

Centre-forward	34	17 + 6
Left winger	25	5 + 3
Right winger	7	0 + 2
Attacking midfield	3	0 + 0

The Belgium international scored eight goals and supplied five assists for Lille in Ligue 1 last season, but his underlying data spoke toward his elite potential. He ran relentlessly, won duels and connected well with his teammates in attack.

In the Premier League this season, he has only played three times, starting twice, but he is already established as one of the fastest players in the division, with a top speed of 35.1 km/h. He has completed 100% of his dribbles and has completed more sprints (31) than anyone else in the division this term.

There's a lot to like about this one, but there is certainly a rawness about him that will keep the jury out when assessing his world-class potential.

He will hope to make the necessary improvements quickly, with a younger member of the Magpies persuasion pushing to break into Jaissle's first team and challenge the likes of Fernandez-Pardo for a spot in the line-up.

Newcastle have a bigger talent than Fernandez-Pardo

Fernandez-Pardo is tipped for big things, but he wouldn't be the only exciting attacker to fail to reach their potential after moving to the Premier League for a big-money fee.

Time will tell, but Jaissle will surely take solace in the fact St. James' Park has also welcomed Vakhtang Salia to the squad, with the Georgian hailed as "one of the best teenage prospects in the world" by journalist Graeme Bailey.

Salia, 19, suffered with injuries last season, but he has started to make headway with Newcastle's development side this term. He has scored three goals and supplied an assist across five matches from centre-forward, copying Fernandez-Pardo in making that berth his own despite experience and skills suited to roles across the frontline. He is fast, energetic and unpredictable on the ball.

In Georgia, Salia played up front for Dinimo Tbilisi, the biggest club in the country, and he caught the eye from the off, with Newcastle having to beat the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich to his signature.

Fernandez-Pardo might have a couple of years on him, but if Salia continues to make the requisite physical adjustments over the next year, he could become a mainstay under Jaissle's management before long, challenging the seniors for starting roles in the Premier League.

Whether Salia manages to rival the likes of Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak for the tag as one of the greatest Newcastle attackers of modern times remains to be seen. The same thing could be said about Fernandez-Pardo.

There is, of course, every chance that the duo will operate in concert over the coming years at St. James' Park, but Salia has a real buzz behind him, and given that many of Europe's biggest outfits had vested interests in his future before he was brought over to Tyneside suggests that Howe pulled off a blinder before later stepping down from his post.

Perhaps, in the years to come, as Salia reaches superstardom, that will be the defining line of Howe's legacy at Newcastle.

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