Just as things were starting to look up for Newcastle, they’ve been pegged back by the news that Callum Wilson will spend months on the sidelines after tearing his calf.
Indeed, the Magpies were excellent against Manchester United in midweek, and while there was cause for optimism after that game, Wilson’s injury has seemingly put another nail in United’s relegation coffin.
Or has it?
On the surface, losing your first-choice number nine at this point of the season when you’re fighting for your Premier League life looks to be an absolute nightmare scenario, but for Newcastle, it could actually aid their chances of staying up.
The Telegraph claim that Newcastle have now altered their transfer plans in lieu of Wilson’s injury, and that may actually help them stay in this division.
Newcastle had largely been planning their January transfer window around bolstering their defence and their midfield – with names such as Kieran Trippier, James Tarkowski, Jesse Lingard and Arthur Melo all strongly linked, but this injury may force them to go out and buy a striker.
Yes, Newcastle’s leaky defence is their biggest problem right now, but let’s not ignore the fact that they’re only averaging one goal per game in the Premier League right now.
Newcastle need more goals in their side, and as Bournemouth’s relegation in 2020 showed, Callum Wilson doesn’t always have enough to single-handedly keep a team afloat.
The Magpies need more goals, and crucially, they also need more depth.
Indeed, Wilson is injury-prone, and United would have been walking a real tightrope if they hadn’t added more depth in January, but the fact that he’s gone down now has given them the shot in the arm they need to wake up and realise they need a new number nine.
Wilson’s injury isn’t ideal, but in the years to come, we could be looking at this as something of a blessing in disguise.
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