Newcastle United haven't done a very good job of moving on their ageing stock of late and are now faced with a squad that is starting to show a high average age.
The likes of Kieran Trippier, Nick Pope, Dan Burn, Fabian Schar and Callum Wilson are all in their 30s now and in Football Manager terms that means it's time to be moving them on, except for Pope because goalkeepers can play forever.
However, Newcastle have resisted the urge to sell any of these players, and in the case of Burn and Schar, they have been selected week in and week out.
Kieran Trippier is poised to leave Newcastle after falling down the pecking order, although Eddie Howe is determined to keep him at the club.
Callum Wilson is another one who we feel should have been moved on this summer, but in a surprise to literally nobody, the striker picked up another injury in pre-season which ruled out a summer move.
Wilson is still to recover from that injury and is likely to be out until the international break next month at the earliest.
Despite this lack of game time, Brentford and Fulham have the 32-year-old earmarked as a potential January target according to The Sun.
If Newcastle don't bring in another striker in the New Year then selling Wilson would be a really stupid move despite the fact that he needs to be moved on, but if we can bring in a replacement, then we should absolutely not stand in his way.
Wilson's strike rate is phenomenal and he's been a huge player for us, but the number of games he's missed makes him more of a liability than an asset.
The Sun claims Newcastle will use the funds raised to fuel another attack on Marc Guehi, but we can't see any sense in that. If we lose a striker, then we need another one as a priority, surely?
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
12 | 16 | 31 |
2 |
Manchester City
|
12 | 5 | 23 |
3 |
Chelsea
|
12 | 9 | 22 |
4 |
Arsenal
|
12 | 9 | 22 |
5 |
Brighton
|
12 | 5 | 22 |
6 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
12 | 14 | 19 |
7 |
Nottingham Forest
|
12 | 2 | 19 |
8 |
Aston Villa
|
12 | 0 | 19 |
9 |
Fulham
|
12 | 0 | 18 |
10 |
Newcastle United
|
12 | 0 | 18 |
11 |
Brentford
|
12 | 0 | 17 |
12 |
Manchester United
|
12 | 0 | 16 |
13 |
Bournemouth
|
12 | -1 | 15 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
12 | -4 | 15 |
15 |
Everton
|
12 | -7 | 11 |
16 |
Leicester
|
12 | -8 | 10 |
17 |
Wolves
|
12 | -8 | 9 |
18 |
Ipswich
|
12 | -10 | 9 |
19 |
Crystal Palace
|
12 | -7 | 8 |
20 |
Southampton
|
12 | -15 | 4 |