Newcastle United proved that they are the real deal this season in their thrilling 3-3 draw against defending champions Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Magpies had initially taken a 3-1 lead in the second half before the Citizens clawed back to leave St. James’ Park with a point.
The result also served as a testament to the remarkable turnaround at Newcastle United under the tutelage of Eddie Howe.
Granted he has been heavily supported in the market by the Magpies’ new Saudi Arabian owners, but the ex-Bournemouth manager has worked hard to turn them into a well-oiled, hard-working machine from the sorrowful, sluggish side they were last year.
But it doesn’t look like Howe has only worked hard to improve Newcastle’s playing style. It seems like he has some players who are cut from the same cloth as him. This isn’t even figurative but almost literal!
During the end of the Magpies’ thrilling battle with the Citizens, the camera panned to Eddie with some of his players and staff on the touchline.
He was about to bring on midfielder Matt Ritchie for the last few minutes of added-time and was seen giving him a pep talk on the sideline.
At this moment, with both the manager and the player standing side-to-side, many noticed the eerie similarity between the two.
Be it the short haircut, scrawny facial features or even the expressions, Howe and Ritchie almost come off as look-alikes together.
But the fun was not over just then! Due to Newcastle defender Dan Burn suffering an unexpected injury at the same moment, the English manager was forced to make a swift change and couldn’t bring on Ritchie as expected.
Instead, he ordered defender Emil Krafth to take off his bib and enter the pitch instead to help give the Magpies some added defensive cover towards the end of the game.
Just before Krafth came onto the pitch, there was a moment where he stood in between Howe and Ritchie.
It was during this short period that fans started noticing the crazy similarities in the features of all three individuals. Krafth also seemingly has a similar haircut as well as the general expressions of his manager.
Neither of the two players is related to Howe at all. They aren’t long-distance relatives and have no personal bonds at all. This is just a crazy coincidence and the familiarities are almost freaky.
Maybe it’s because of his look-alikes that convinced Eddie to take up the Newcastle job!