'Incredible' £20m Newcastle man now subject of approach by rival Premier League club

Newcastle United are now facing the prospect of losing their most prolific forward since Alan Shearer to a rival Premier League club.

West Ham United have, according to The Chronicle, made contact with Newcastle over the signing of England striker Callum Wilson this summer.

Wilson became Newcastle's second-leading goal scorer in the Premier League last season, surpassing Peter Beardsley, but still sits 101 goals away from catching Alan Shearer.

The 32-year-old has been the subject of a lot of transfer speculation already this summer as the club look ready to sell, however Eddie Howe would prefer he stayed.

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Newcastle already have Wilson's replacement lined up

When he's fully fit there aren't many better marksmen in the Premier League with Eddie Howe once calling him 'incredible', but fitness has been a massive concern for a while now and the situation is unlikely to improve with age.

With Dominic Calvert-Lewin looking like he is incoming, the treatment room would be starting to look pretty crowded so moving Callum Wilson on does make sense.

Selling to a rival Premier League side isn't ideal, but it is what it is, and he'll get to link up with his old podcast mate Michail Antonio.

Callum Wilson has been superb but it is time to move on

Wilson has been a fantastic player for Newcastle over the years since his £20million move from Bournemouth, injuries aside, and we are eternally grateful for what he's done. He's in the echelons of people who never need to buy a pint when they're in town.

However, with his age and his fitness concerns, it's probably time to move him on while we can still get some money for him.

He only has a year left on his deal so this will be our last chance to recoup some coin, and his amortisation period will have expired by now so it will be all profit in terms of FFP whatever we get for him with a figure of £18million being suggested.