There’ll be a sense of disappointment among supporters of the St James’s Park outfit today as Freddie Woodman leaves Newcastle United.
On Tuesday, Newcastle revealed on their official website that the English goalkeeper had joined Preston North End on a permanent basis.
The 25-year-old had no fewer than six loan spells away from the Magpies, where he began his career.
This is a highly-rated young keeper and one who needed regular football.
It’s a shame things didn’t quite work at Newcastle because according to former United boss Rafael Benitez, he was the ‘future’ of the Tyneside outfit.
Back in 2017, the Spanish manager is reported by The Chronicle to have told Woodman personally that he was the future of Newcastle.
However, despite being arguably the most impressive keeper to come through at academy level in the North East in recent years, four Premier League appearances during his senior career suggests that subequent coaches at Benton – Steve Bruce and Eddie Howe – didn’t share Benitez’s optimism about the player.
At 25, Woodman remains young in goalkeeper terms and it’ll be fascinating to see how he fares in the Championship next season.
He is clearly a good keeper but how good? Well that remains to be seen.
He might not be the future of Newcastle anymore, but he could well have a glittering future as a proven Premier League player at some point down the line.
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