Former Newcastle player Malcolm Macdonald has urged manager Rafa Benitez not to sell young goalkeeper Freddie Woodman on a permanent deal.
This follows up from the story in the Daily Record which reported that the 20-year-old goalkeeper is interested in returning to SPL side Kilmarnock next season.
Woodman joined Kilmarnock in January on a loan deal and he impressed with his performances, making 14 league appearances and keeping four clean sheets.
The youngster was part of the England Under-20 national team who lifted the World Cup in South Korea this summer.
The goalkeeper featured in six out of the seven tournament matches and he made his biggest contribution in the World Cup final as he saved a late penalty and helped England secure a 1-0 victory over Venezuela.
Writing in his column for the Chronicle, Macdonald believes that the young shot-stopper needs to leave in order to get more experience under his belt, but he hopes that the club do not sell him on a permanent deal in the same way they lost Fraser Forster.
“This young goalkeeper needs a massive great challenge to keep his form going. If he doesn’t get that challenge, his rapid rise could quickly stagnate,” he said.
“If Rafa is not going to look to give him some serious football this season, then I think there’s no option but to send him on loan to a club where he’s going to be guaranteed first-team football.
“Newcastle have already made a mistake with Fraser Forster when they allowed him to leave for a ludicrously low fee – they can’t do the same again.”
Forster spent seven years at St James’ Park during the early stages of his career but he failed to make a single appearance with the first-team.
Celtic signed the goalkeeper for a fee of around £2million in 2012, and he subsequently moved to Southampton in 2014 for close to £11million. He has since become a regular England international with six senior caps.