Santiago Munoz has been 'focused' on his comeback from a long-term injury despite facing an uncertain future at Newcastle United. That is the view of Magpies U21s boss Elliott Dickman, who insists a decision on the loanee's future will be confirmed in 'due course'.
Munoz signed for Newcastle on an initial 18-month loan deal from Mexican top-flight side Santos Laguna in August 2020, and hold an option to make the deal permanent. The deal attracted inevitable headlines due to the young striker sharing the same name as the protagonist of the 2005 cult film Goal!.
However, Munoz's time on Tyneside has so far been plagued by injuries. The loanee scored a hat-trick on his St James' Park debut in a comeback win over West Brom U23s in March, and made his senior bow as a late substitute in the pre-season friendly win over Athletic Bilbao in July.
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Munoz's start to the new season has again been derailed by a injury setback, with the striker missing almost four months of action due to a groin complaint. The 20-year-old made his first appearance since August in Monday night's Premier League Cup home defeat to Sheffield United, coming on as a substitute for Isaac Westendorf.
Recent reports from Mexico suggest Newcastle have no interest in making the deal for Munoz permanent, with a return to Santos Laguna said to be 'imminent'. Dickman insists no decision has yet been taken, and has praised the loanee for his conduct amid the speculation.
He told ChronicleLive: "He's been very focused and professional. He's a really nice lad, he interacts with the staff really well and has a really good sense of humour. He works really hard every day, I can not praise him enough on that side of things.
"It's good that he's back, it's good he's on the grass with us and back enjoying playing football. No-one likes being injured, I know Santi didn't. It's good for him, and whatever the future holds for him will be decided in due course."
Munoz almost scored an injury-time equaliser on his return, but was unable to prevent a 1-0 defeat to the Blades which extends Newcatle's losing streak to six matches. Dickman was pleased with the striker's cameo, and outlined the club's patient approach to the loanee's latest recovery.
He added: "It is great to see him back on the pitch. He's been training for a little while now, we just felt he needed some more training before he got back into the squad. We just had to be careful and patient, and make sure we didn't rush him back too fast.
"The decision we made to make sure he's had plenty of training and lots of sessions before the squad was really important. He's come on and done smashing tonight [Monday], he's taken the ball, he can handle it and link play well. I'm delighted to have him back."
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