It looks as though Newcastle United may not get their money back on January transfer signing Chris Wood when he eventually moves on.
After a sudden influx of money at the club, the Magpies’ new ownership decided to go out and trigger the ex-Burnley man’s £25m release clause as they looked to find solutions to their relegation struggle.
However, despite only being at the club for a short amount of time, it seems unlikely his value will reach close to that level again. Indeed, according to the CIES Football Observatory – a database that assesses the transfer value of professional footballers on a scientific basis – his alleged value is currently at €10m-€15m, which is as low as £8.3m and as high as £12.5m.
To make things worse, the Kiwi striker hasn’t even scored a goal for his new club, either. Indeed, Wood has started six Premier League games at Newcastle but is yet to hit the back of the net.
Waste of money?
While this all may seem pretty disastrous in theory, the reality is that both club and player are actually doing just fine for now. While he may not have scored yet, he hasn’t been on the losing side in a Magpies shirt, either, and his team are now up to 14th in the Premier League table as a result.
It must also be noted that his £25m fee was likely to be slightly extortionate given that it was a release clause.
Will Chris Wood's goals keep Newcastle up?
Yes
No
Coming to the player’s defence in recent times, Paddy Kenny told Football Insider: “I think he suits this Newcastle side. They need a big tall striker who is a handful rather than a smaller, quicker forward.
“He does need a goal and we know he can do it at this level so if he keeps playing, the goals will come and he will be back to his brilliant self.
“The important thing is that he is contributing because strikers aren’t just there to score goals.
“I think any criticism of him is harsh and a bit out of order, to be honest, he’s only been there a few weeks.”
TIF Verdict on Chris Wood and Newcastle…
Considering the club’s current wealth, Newcastle don’t really need to worry too much about player’s value and likely would have understood that when they paid £25m for a 30-year-old Burnley striker, his value was unlikely to rise.
In other news: Dream replacement: Newcastle eye big-money bid for star levels above Callum Wilson – opinion