It was a moment which summed up Chris Wood’s Newcastle United career.
Joelinton did all the hard work, shrugging off a Sheffield Wednesday challenge and laying on the perfect pass for his strike partner. Wood, one-on-one, seemed destined to score. It was, as they say, easer to miss.
But as the ball looped up and over the top of Cameron Dawson’s goal, Newcastle’s £25 million striker held his head in his hands and looked as if he wanted the ground to swallow him up. One 80th minute mishit which consigned Newcastle to yet another FA Cup third round exit against lower league opposition.
A lot has changed since that Saudi Arabian takeover. But some things simply stay the same.
Is the writing on the wall for Chris Wood at Newcastle United?
Matt Targett, Dan Burn, Joe Willock, Kieran Trippier and the outstanding Bruno Guimaraes have made a colossal difference since joining Eddie Howe’s side 12 months ago; their success making the struggles of Newcastle’s other January signing all the more pronounced.
Wood, a big-money arrival from Burnley, was never likely to be a long-term solution to Newcastle’s goalscoring problems. A signing borne out of necessity. Some would say desperation.
The Magpies were staring down the barrel of relegation at the time, and hunting the rarest of beasts; a proven, experienced Premier League goalscorer both affordable and attainable midway through the season.
And Wood, in a sense, can argue that he fulfilled his end of the bargain. The one-time Leeds talisman scored just two goals after joining from Turf Moor. But one of those was a winner against Wolves. And the other helped secure three vital points at Southampton as Newcastle pulled clear of the bottom three.
Since then, however, he’s scored just three more goals. One of those came against fourth-tier Tranmere Rovers. And he’s clearly now Howe’s third-choice behind Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak.
Youssoufa Moukoko a big target for the newly-minted Magpies
With the Northern Echo reporting that arguably Europe’s most exciting teenage attacker could be on his way to St James’ Park – a ‘lucrative long-term offer’ in the pipeline for Borussia Dortmund wonderkid Youssoufa Moukoko – would anybody really be surprised if that squandered sitter in Sheffield proves to be Wood’s last meaningful act as a Newcastle player?
Moukoko, a potentially elite-level talent with six goals in eight Bundesliga starts this season alone, is unlikely to sign on the dotted line without the promise of regular first-team football at Newcastle. BILD believe Moukoko, who featured for Germany at the Qatar World Cup, will cost £26 million despite his BVB contract expiring in July. The teenager ticks about every box imaginable for the Tynesiders; affordable, improving and overflowing with potential.
Failing that, the Magpies could return for Fiorentina’s Arthur Cabral; the £35 million-rated former Basel hitman who’s agent held talks with Newcastle last year (Goal Brazil).
Chris Wood felt like a short-term signing even in January 2022. With Newcastle now hot on the heels of an expensive replacement, we could be about to find out exactly how short-term Wood is likely to be.
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