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Newcastle United face several important decisions between now and the end of the season, with the futures of several first-team players needing to be addressed.
As things stand, there are EIGHT senior players out of contract at the end of June, leaving Paul Mitchell with work to do alongside preparations for a big summer on Tyneside.
Fabian Schar and Emil Krafth are thought to be in talks over new deals, but a third Mag appears to be in line for a surprise new deal – and it’s causing plenty of debate online.
Newcastle preparing Wilson deal
According to The Chronicle, Callum Wilson is in line to receive a new contract at Newcastle United.
The 32-year-old, who turns 33 later this month, is out of contract this summer and had been widely expected to depart, with back and hamstring issues limiting him to just 115 minutes of football all season.
He scored in Saturday’s 3-2 win over Birmingham and it’s believed talks have taken place behind the scenes to extend his deal, with reports suggesting we have an option to add a further 12 months to his contract.
This could be to protect his value, ensuring we receive a small fee this summer opposed to losing him on a free. Doing the latter could be smart business if a cut-price sale could be lined up, but Eddie Howe’s latest comments suggest he still has a future.
“Yeah, absolutely there is (a chance he stays).” he said. “I can’t write the future. I can’t predict what’s going to happen. I’d never write Callum Wilson off.”
Howe then insisted that Newcastle would not have been able to bring in a forward better than Wilson had we been able to invest in January.
“Without a doubt for me. If he can stay fit he’s an outstanding centre forward. He’s got the experience that we would need in that position, the know how of how we play, the pace, the strength, goalscorer, so yeah, we wouldn’t have been able to recruit anyone close to his level I don’t believe in this window who would have been ready to play.
“The key thing is trying to keep his fit. That’s what Callum wants, that’s what we want and fingers crossed we can male it happen.”
Howe’s loyalty could cost Toon
When Wilson is fit, he’s a handful and fox in the box that knows how to score, as he proved once again over the weekend.
However, it sums up his injury woes that Saturday was his FIRST FA Cup appearance for the club, despite being on Tyneside for almost five years now.
It’s true that a replacement would be costly, but it would be even more risky heading into the 2025/26 season without a more reliable option to compete with Alexander Isak, especially if we qualify for European football.
