OPINION
Newcastle United have not got a decent record for nurturing and developing homegrown talent into their first team – with Paul Dummett the only player to have stuck around in the last decade – but they do have someone who looks destined for the top on their books.
Step forward 21-year-old shot stopper Freddie Woodman, who is as highly rated by the club as he is his country, having won the under-20 World Cup with England and picking up a handful of under-21 appearances.
He really is the brightest young thing to emerge on Tynesie for quite some time but unfortunately for the young Englishman he faces significant barriers to make it at St James’ Park – namely Martin Dubravka, Karl Darlow and Rob Elliot, who all seem to be ahead of him in the pecking order.
It was expected that he would head out on loan this summer, having spent time with Kilmarnock last season, but instead he is destined to play reserve football until January after remaining at Newcastle.
However, it appears as though his situation, both in terms of the squad and his contract, has pricked some ears of top flight giants with the Chronicle claiming that Scottish champions Celtic and Premier League rivals Manchester United have been watching on in what is a bargain hunt, Woodman’s deal at St James’ Park said to run until 2019.
Losing the goalkeeper, especially to Manchester United, would result in utter heartbreak for the club and that is why they need to launch talks with him in order to get him tied down to a new deal.
They lost Fraser Forster to Celtic before, watching him go on to become a Premier League mainstay and England international, and the same mistake cannot be allowed to happen.
Contract negotiations are a must, and even if it results in him eventually leaving for a bigger fee, the Magpies cannot afford to lose out.