Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has admitted that there is uncertainty surrounding Callum Wilson’s future at the club ahead of the summer transfer window.
The Magpies have a few remaining fixtures left to attempt to confirm a European qualification spot, and a finish inside the top seven would be a great achievement for the side, who have found themselves regressing since last season.
This regression has come from a combination of not being able to attack the transfer market confidently, a huge gambling scandal including their marquee signing Sandro Tonali, and an injury crisis that has seen almost every player in the squad need to be sidelined at one point over the campaign.
Eddie Howe will likely be relieved when the current season’s climax is reached so that he can develop the squad based on the lessons learnt and mistakes made over the last 12 months to come back stronger after the summer.
This week the Newcastle boss has been speaking out about the future and what that could hold for star striker Callum Wilson who has had another rollercoaster season with injury problems plaguing his ability to consistently deliver.
As the former Bournemouth hitman returns to full team training this week, Howe was put on the spot about Wilson’s future at the club, to which he responded:
“It’s undoubted how I feel about Callum, how I feel about his qualities and what he can offer the team,”
“If you lose a player of that quality, to then find a player of equal standard will cost the club a lot of money.”
“That’s always the big talking point about any business we do in the summer. If you lose a player, how can you replace him with the same quality with Financial Fair Play implications around the corner? There’s a lot to think about.”
Howe was then asked if the 32-year-old has a point to prove in the remaining fixtures:
“I don’t think Callum Wilson necessarily has a point to prove in terms of his ability and what he can deliver, that’s undoubted. We would like him to stay fit for a prolonged period of time and to be able to execute that on a consistent basis.”
“So, there is sort of a double-edged meaning to my answer. I want every player to have that burning desire every single game to fulfil their own ambitions and certainly Callum has very big ambitions still. He’s still a very strong player and he can make a big difference for us.”
Should Newcastle sell Callum Wilson?
There is no doubt that Wilson has been a star player at St James’ Park especially after reuniting with Howe when he was appointed following the takeover, but his injury record and contract situation does remain a concern.
The goal machine will have 12 months remaining on his contract when next season commences, so there is a challenging decision to be made as to whether the value of his contributions in the team outweighs his potential value financially as Newcastle attempt to navigate in the right direction with their FFP obligations.
Over 104 appearances for the North East outfit, Wilson has scored 46 goals and registered 11 assists which means he has delivered a goal contribution every 123 minutes; a healthy output when considering the amount of time he has spent on the injury table.
With that being said, it will be interesting to see whether Howe will let sentiment and hope that Wilson can hit form again or will make the cut-throat decision to cash in on the striker before his contract runs down.
