Chris Wood has an uncertain future at Newcastle United after a disappointing debut season. The 30-year-old has scored only two goals in 16 games since making the switch from Burnley and isn’t likely to command a starting place next season if Callum Wilson is fit.
Eddie Howe is expected to sign another striker this summer too which would push Wood further down the pecking order, but Paddy Kenny doesn’t believe he will be sold. He told Football Insider: “He’s only just joined this massive club.
“It’s a step up from Burnley and he has done ok in my opinion. He will have wanted more goals, but they just haven’t fallen for him. I think if Newcastle do get this new striker in, Wood can still stay. Callum Wilson is always injured and after him, there is very little to choose from.”
Kenny has a point. Wilson has missed 60% of Newcastle’s games this season due to injury, so Eddie Howe can’t trust him to stay fit over the course of a campaign. No Magpies player has more goals than the 30-year-old in 2021/22 and he’s only played in 16 Premier League games, but Howe wood be foolish to risk it.
Kenny added: “He joined for £25million too so Newcastle will want him to deliver a bit more. I think he stays. He isn’t a bad option to have especially off the bench when they might be chasing a game. Lump the ball up to Wood and see what he does. It’s not a pretty tactic but it can work.”
Wood joined Newcastle on a two-and-a-half-year deal, so he’s contracted at St James’ Park until 2024, but Howe won’t continue to play him if he can’t deliver on the pitch.
The Magpies are 13th in the Premier League for goals this season (40), so they can’t afford to stick with a striker that’s spurning opportunities on a regular basis.
In other news, Frank McAvennie says Newcastle shouldn’t sign Dominic Calvert-Lewin
