The Belgian has fallen to third choice at St James’ Park.
Young Newcastle United goalkeeper Freddie Woodman is set to join Kilmarnock on loan in January, The Chronicle reports, which could hand Matz Sels a lifeline at St James’ Park.
The highly-rated 19-year-old will link up with former Magpies favourite Lee Clark at Rugby Park with fellow Newcastle starlets Cal Roberts and Sean Longstaff, a prolific scorer in the under-23s, also set to make the short-term move north of the border.
The move will give Woodman (below) an ideal opportunity to build up his first-team experience, especially with Rob Elliot returning from injury to challenge the in-form Karl Darlow for the number one spot at St James’.
Furthermore, the teenager’s impending exit also appears to impact the future of out-of-favour Belgian ‘keeper Sels, who has not featured in the league since October after struggling to deal with the physical nature of the Championship.
The 24-year-old was heavily tipped to return to his homeland six months after arriving from Gent but, according to The Chronicle, Newcastle will now tell the shot-stopper to fight for his place on Tyneside and cover Woodman’s departure.
Nonetheless, Sels does not appear to have much chance of regaining his first-team place at Newcastle barring a dramatic injury crisis, with his most recent appearance in all competitions, the EFL Cup defeat to Hull City, appearing to justify Rafa Benitez’s decision to remove him from the firing line.
Sels spilled a tame shot in extra time to gift Robert Snodgrass an extra-time equaliser with Newcastle going on to lose on penalties, meaning his stock is hardly high with the club’s fans.
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