Newcastle United shot-stopper, Freddie Woodman who is currently serving a loan spell with Scottish Premiership outfit, Aberdeen for the remainder of the 2017/18 season, is hopeful of making an illustrious return to the St. James’ Park. He has made 5 appearances for the Dons ever since his switch from the Tyneside club back in January and his statements should come as a huge boost for the Magpies.
The 21-year-old has made the right decision by opting for the move away from the Premier League side judging by the success he is enjoying at the moment.
The player stated that his father who had played in the same position for Northampton Town, Colchester United and Brentford was a major part of the decision.
Freddie Woodman is a product of the Newcastle academy which he joined back in 2013 after leaving Crystal Palace. The Croydon-born shot-stopper has represented England till the U21 side with 52 caps all around. He recently won the FIFA U-20 World Cup with the side and earned himself the Golden Glove award indication of the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
Woodman’s league experience currently consists of 11 League Two appearances for Crawley Town and 14 Scottish Premiership appearances for Kilmarnock.
A proven talent with firm hands and quick feet in between the sticks, Woodman’s career carries a lot of promise and might just be the next in line to succeed Joe Hart in the future.
However, a lack of minutes looked to have stalled his career and Woodburn was not satisfied with the bench role like the rest of his academy teammates as evident from his very words – “I’ve been trying to push to play for quite a long time and I’m quite an impatient person. I want to play football matches because that’s when I’m at my happiest. Hopefully, if I can do well here and go back to Newcastle, I’ll see what’s in store for me there.”
However, Newcastle’s goalkeeper situation is currently under a lot of media speculation as well with the on-loan goalkeeper, Martin Dubravka impressing in recent times. The Magpies paid a £4m loan fee to pry him away from Prague and it can rise to £1.2m if he plays over 6 games in the remainder of the season. Benitez certainly would not mind that and is interested in signing the Slovakian shot stopper permanently for £5.2m.
If the move successfully falls through in the next summer window, this will be another roadblock in Woodman’s Newcastle career and maybe he will have to look for another club. However, no further talks have progressed about the Dubravka move in recent times.
The 21-year-old starlet is a prime candidate to snatch up the number one shirt ahead of the questionable duo – Karl Darlow and Rob Elliot and is expected to have a bright future under the tutelage of Rafa Benitez.
