Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson has spoken to the media about his future at the club with his contract due to expire in the summer of 2025.
Newcastle hosted West Ham United at St James’ Park last night in their return to Premier League action following the international break, and to say it didn’t go to plan would be an understatement.
Eddie Howe only made one change to the starting eleven that were victorious away from home against Nottingham Forest before the break, but the team were unable to get out of first gear throughout the clash with the visitors.
Julen Lopetegui’s side was under pressure to perform after a rough start to their Premier League campaign. Still, given the home advantage and confident displays against Forest, Arsenal, and Chelsea, it was almost expected that the Magpies would be favourites to take everything away from the fixture.
A goal from Tomas Soucek early into the first half left Newcastle bewildered, and from that moment it was a difficult watch as Howe attempted to recover in the second half by bringing on Harvey Barnes and Callum Wilson.
However, a second from the Hammers was the final nail in the coffin of a terrible evening for the Geordies and they fell into 10th in the league table as a result.
Although a defeat will have come as a surprise to some, the inconsistent performances and results have become a familiar theme throughout the campaign so far for Newcastle, and it is up to the manager to iron out these weaknesses in the coming weeks with an opportunity to add depth to the squad in the January transfer window.
In terms of the future of the team, the return of Wilson was warmly welcomed in Newcastle last night as the striker featured for the first time this season and it will be a huge boost to have his experience in the centre-forward role over the congested festive period.
The 32-year-old will be out of contract at the end of this season and after last night’s defeat spoke out about his future when asked about his situation next summer (via The Shields Gazette):
“I’m not thinking about it to be honest.” Wilson confessed.
“You can only focus on the current situation – the first and foremost was getting fit, from there you build on that, stay fit, score your goals and then it’s down to the club on how things progress and like I say, as a striker you score goals and get yourself longevity don’t you?
“I love playing for this club, I joined many years ago and helped the club numerous times throughout the years and I want to be a part of it. It’s about getting going and getting out there – as long as I’m on the pitch I’ve no doubt I’ll score goals but it’s about staying on the pitch.”
Should Callum Wilson be given a new contract?
There is no doubt that Wilson has made an incredible impact on Tyneside over his lengthy tenure, but his constant injury concerns and unavailability is a massive red flag when considering his future at the club.
The England international has scored 48 goals and registered 11 assists in all competitions over 109 appearances for Newcastle, offering a goal contribution every 122 minutes which is an impressive output.
However, his injury record is nothing short of horrendous – tallying up 14 separate instances of injury amounting to a staggering 602 days on the sideline, which is not favourable in his efforts to prove his worth for an extension beyond next summer.
Luckily for him, Howe is a huge fan – once hailing Wilson “special” – as the pair also worked together at AFC Bournemouth too, so if he can use this return as an opportunity to score goals, remain available to rely on and help Newcastle achieve their ambitions of European football, there’s no reason why a conversation to extend won’t be on the table.
It has, however, been widely reported that Wilson is one of the players Newcastle will consider putting up for sale in January, in an effort to boost funds to spend during the transfer window to improve the team going into the second half of the season.
With that being said, it will be interesting to see if Wilson can make the immediate impact desperately needed in the attacking threat in their upcoming fixtures, as this would put him in strong contention to remain a Newcastle player after the January transfer window.
