OPINION
Newcastle United have not produced many young players of Premier League quality in the last few years, with Paul Dummett the only recent academy graduate to have become a regular for the first-team.
One current youngster who has long been tipped to do the same is goalkeeper Freddie Woodman, who has been at the club for five years since making the switch from Crystal Palace in 2013.
The Croydon-born stopper has become one of the country’s most highly-rated young goalkeepers during his time on Tyneside, and was part of the World Cup-winning England Under-20 side in 2017.
Woodman’s time at Newcastle has sadly turned slightly sour in recent months, with the 21-year-old denied a loan exit after failing to put pen to paper on a new contract over the summer.
It has been widely assumed that Newcastle will grant him a loan exit in January, with Woodman far to good to be sitting on the bench, but the goalkeeper is likely to have to sign a new deal before that happens.
Unfortunately this stance and their summer blunder may now have taken the situation out of their hands.
As reported by the Shields Gazette, Arsenal are now weighing up a January swoop for Woodman amid this contract uncertainty, with the youngster unhappy with his current situation at Newcastle.
While there is no overt suggestion that Woodman wants to leave, interest from a Premier League giant like the Gunners will surely pique his interest, especially in the wake of what he deems to be unfair treatment by Newcastle.
Another thing which will factor into his decision-making is the fact that his father, Andy Woodman, is the current head goalkeeping coach for the Arsenal academy.
And finally, the fact that the 6ft 2in ace [Transfermarkt] is originally from London will surely mean he is attracted by the proposition of returning home after five years away in the north-east.
All in all these signs point to an uncomfortable situation for Newcastle in January if Arsenal decide to act on their interest and make a bid for Woodman.
Should that happen, and the offer be a good one, then there may not be much they can do to prevent the youngster leaving in what would be a disaster for the club.
