OPINION
Newcastle United’s alarm bells always appear to be ringing as bad news seems to follow the club like a bad odour however there’s good news to celebrate after the club confirmed its retained list.
The Magpies released the list of players they were set to keep via their website on Friday and the news that Adam Wilson had been offered a professional deal is a brilliant decision.
While several starlets are sadly set to leave St James Park with the youth system getting a much needed overhaul, Wilson is one talent the club needed to keep to have a bright future.
Despite only being 18-years-old his reputation proceeds him as it was only recently in March, as reported by the Chronicle, that the left-sided player was called up to feature for England’s U-17s.
Wilson ended up winning two caps for his nation and will no doubt soon add more to his collection.
The left-back or left-midfielder, dependent on how his manager sees fit, is one of the club’s most promising talents as despite his young age he already featured at U-23 level.
In his latest campaign Wilson made 18 appearances in the U-18 Premier League, one in the FA Youth Cup and even managed four competent displays in the Premier League 2.
It may not be a surprise to see the talented prospect handed a new deal but until it was confirmed it could not be celebrated as with the overhaul so drastic at the club, it wouldn’t have been a surprise for players to get accidentally lost in the shuffle.
While the decision to award Wilson a professional deal is near bottom of the statement, which will cause it to fly under the radar, it needs to be celebrated.
The news will also be wrongly overlooked as most will focus on the fact that the retained list reveals that Massadio Haidara and Jesus Gamez are set to leave the club.
Yet Wilson being offered a professional deal deserves to have the spotlight put on it.
