Newcastle United

Newcastle United: Chris Waugh bemoans the fitness problem surrounding Callum Wilson

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Image for Newcastle United: Chris Waugh bemoans the fitness problem surrounding Callum Wilson

Journalist Chris Waugh has taken to Twitter to bemoan the constant fitness issues surrounding Newcastle United’s Callum Wilson.

Newcastle United’s very impressive unbeaten home run came to a rather expected end at the weekend as Liverpool picked up all three points in a narrow 1-0 win, with the Magpies registering just two shots on target in the entire game.

Do Newcastle need to replace Wilson?

Yes!

Yes!

No!

No!

For the second game in a row, Eddie Howe opted to leave £25m January signing Chris Wood on the bench and decided to play Allan Saint-Maximin through the middle, which offered the Magpies very little going forward.

This has only increased the spotlight on Newcastle’s need for a new striker this summer, with Wood netting just twice in 15 league games for Newcastle and Wilson struggling to keep himself fit for an entire season during his time on Tyneside, with Waugh claiming: “NUFC have come a long way in a short time – but most of their progress has been defensively. Callum Wilson makes a difference offensively but his long-term fitness can’t be guaranteed,” going on to stress the importance of adding striking reinforcements ahead of the next campaign.

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Waugh, who covers Newcastle for The Athletic, clearly acknowledges that while Newcastle have been on a great run of form, they have only won a game by more than one goal on three occasions this season – pointing towards an obvious need for more firepower going forward.

Wilson, who was a £20m signing back in 2020, has been a great player when fit, with 18 goals in 37 starts for a Newcastle side that have always flirted with relegation, but those stats don’t do enough to warrant him missing 35 games through injury since his arrival – something that Waugh knows needs addressing if the Magpies are to take the next step under Howe and PIF.

In other news: NUFC supporters will be loving this Howe footage to emerge from Sky Sports – opinion

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