Michail Antonio told Callum Wilson ‘don’t lie’ after he stated that he wants Chris Wood scoring for Newcastle ‘as soon as possible’, as the West Ham striker told the Footballer’s Football podcast.
Newcastle’s number nine sent a message to Wood by stating that he is ‘rooting’ for him during his difficult start to life at St James’ Park.
Even though Eddie Howe’s side are unbeaten in the Premier League since December and are pushing away from the relegation zone, one of their January captures is struggling to get off the mark.
Wood hasn’t really shone as he would have liked since leaving another relegation battlefield in Burnley.
And even though Wilson tried to send him a motivational message during his period on the sidelines, his West Ham counterpart was having none of it.
“I am just rooting for Woody, being in the striker’s union, to get himself off the mark as soon as possible,” said Wilson
Antonio responded with laughter: “Don’t lie, mate. Don’t lie. Why are you lying, bruv?
“Your team is winning games. You are unbeaten in seven. Your striker that has come in for you hasn’t scored any goals, but you are winning games. Don’t lie!
“You want your team to keep winning. The striker has come in, but you want to come back in and get your place. You don’t want him banging, so when you come back, then you have to sit on the sidelines. I hear what you are saying. You feel bad for the guy. But it’s your job and you want to come back and take your job back.”
Wilson responded: “I am not agreeing to this. I want Woody to score goals. That’s all that matters. The team staying in the league is the most important thing.”
From Newcastle’s perspective, they won’t care one jot about how Wood does or doesn’t perform as long as they stay up.
Given the barrel load of money they can spend, they could take a hit on the player in the summer if they have to.
Either way, the Magpies are still picking up points, so that’s all that matters as they continue to climb the table.
It’s quite remarkable really that Newcastle are unbeaten in the league since December given that they couldn’t even win a game for months and months.
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