Jordan Cronin has claimed on the National World YouTube channel that Eddie Howe may back himself to keep Newcastle United’s Callum Wilson fit this season.
Wilson was brought to Newcastle from Howe’s former side Bournemouth for £20m, and while he probably has been good value for money with 20 goals in just 44 league starts, that low number of starts shows where his biggest issue lies.
The England international has had a hard time trying to remain fit on Tyneside, starting just 16 league games last season, but having now moved his family up to Newcastle permanently, that may well help instead of doing round trips every week back down to the south coast.
Cronin believes that despite Newcastle being linked with a lot of strikers, how may now back himself to keep Wilson fit this coming term.
“Maybe there’s been a change behind the scenes where Eddie Howe maybe went into the summer – look, he does want to sign a striker, ideally would like a younger option [as] backup to Callum Wilson and Chris Wood, but maybe the urgency of signing a striker isn’t as strong as it was.
Will Wilson hit double figures this season?
Yes!
No!
“Because Eddie Howe might back himself to keep Callum Wilson fit because he was the player he worked with for a long time at Bournemouth, so maybe Eddie Howe can think of a fitness plan or a plan of keeping Callum Wilson fit and preserve him for more than hopefully, say 20 games a season, which is what he’s probably averaged over his two years at Newcastle.”
TIF Thoughts on Wilson…
It would be great for both Wilson and the club if he could stay fit for at least the majority of the season, as he could save PIF a lot of money, while personally, he could get himself back into the England reckoning for the World Cup later this year.
Wilson may well see this as his last chance to forge a long career on Tyneside, as if the striker experiences more injury trouble like he did last season, Howe and Newcastle would likely have no choice but to sign someone more reliable.