Shay Given is a fan of Newcastle United’s Freddie Woodman.
Shay Given has told The Chronicle that goalkeeper Freddie Woodman is the “future of Newcastle United”.
The 20-year-old’s name is bound to crop up more and more following Karl Darlow’s error in Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat by Everton at St James’s Park.
Darlow was also culpable for one of Leicester’s goals in the Foxes’ 3-2 win on Tyneside and the pressure is on Rafael Benitez to either trust the 25-year-old – who was second-choice until a few weeks ago – or bring back Republic of Ireland international Rob Elliot.
But there is a third option in the form of Woodman, who impressed at Kilmarnock on loan last season and was denied another temporary spell away from the club by Benitez in the summer.
However, although legendary Newcastle keeper Given is a big fan, he believes that the youngster needs another loan before he is ready for the rigours of Premier League football.
He told The Chronicle: “I’ve been very impressed with Freddie.
“He’s been out on loan a couple of times, he just needs to bide his time and I think the long-term future of Newcastle United will be Freddie Woodman.
“He’s got that big future ahead of him and he’ll be pushing hard for that England spot in a few years. For now, he needs to keep his head down and maybe get another loan deal somewhere and get some more experience and he’ll be ready for the Premier League.”
Woodman is clearly a top talent but would it be unthinkable for Benitez to give him a chance? Darlow is clearly struggling, while there had to be a reason why the Spaniard dropped Elliot.
It’s not impossible that Benitez will have to work on a shoestring again in January and he should consider whether he wants to waste money on a goalkeeper without at least trying out Woodman.
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