Newcastle United manager Matthias Jaissle is very pleased with Sean Steur's development and wants to give him more minutes. But the midfielder who arrived from Ajax still looks unlikely to secure a starting place any time soon.
Steur joined from Ajax last summer for €27 million. The player from Volendam made a strong start to life in the north of England.
Eddie Howe and then Jaissle often gave the young midfielder opportunities in pre-season, but he has repeatedly had to settle for a place on the bench in the Premier League.
Last week, Steur played only ten minutes in the EFL Cup tie against Everton, a 3-1 defeat. Last weekend, he again had to make do with just 27 minutes in the Premier League as Newcastle lost 1-0 to Everton.
Supporters are calling more loudly for the former Ajax player. He has made a big impression on Magpies fans in the minutes he has played.
Even so, Steur looks unlikely to start against Fulham next weekend. "We are all pleased with Sean, and he showed in the last match that he can contribute a lot of good things to our play. He has so much potential. But he and Nico González are clearly similar players, with similar profiles…"
"We need to find a way for him to play more minutes too, because his progress is going in the right direction," the German manager concluded at the press conference.