OPINION
It was a surprise when Newcastle United youngster Freddie Woodman remained at the club during the summer transfer window, with the goalkeeper expected to complete a loan move away.
Managing director Lee Charnley actually blocked a temporary move due to a contract issue, something which did not go down too well with the 21-year-old, who is at a stage in his career where he needs to be playing regular first-team football.
Ahead of him in the pecking order are Martin Dubravka, Karl Darlow and Rob Elliot, and so his chances of that happening with the Magpies are extremely low.
Woodman has since been rotting in the reserves on Tyneside, and has now spoken out on his situation ahead of the January transfer window.
As quoted by the Chronicle, he said: “January is around the corner and I have to be prepared for it when it comes. I’ve always said I enjoy playing football so whatever level it is, I am going to enjoy it. I don’t have to play for the Under-23s – I choose to play.
“I just want to get the best out of a bad situation.”
These are the words of a player who is quite obviously unsettled with what is happening at Newcastle, and this is a situation which needs to be dealt with swiftly, or the club could have a disaster on their hands.
Woodman is widely considered to be one of the best young goalkeepers in the country, so for the club to end up losing him would be a huge blow.
They must do all they can to keep him happy after that blunder in the summer which has left him in this limbo, and that will obviously involve a loan move away in January.
Charnley and the club need to forget about this contractual issue for now and think a bit more short-term here, or the 6ft 2in star [Transfermarkt] will just end up leaving come the summer.
Once the player is loaned out and happy, then they can start work on getting him to sign a new long-term deal.
Woodman’s happiness with being at the club must be addressed first before anything else, and a temporary move away is the only answer.