In a recent interview with Newcastle United‘s Zoom Army feature, Paul Dummett revealed that he wants to stay at St. James’ Park for the rest of his career. When quizzed about whether he wants to be a one-club man, Dummett said (transcripted by The Chronicle),
“Yeah, it certainly would be lovely to play my full career at Newcastle.
“But at the moment, I’m concentrating on keeping Newcastle in the Premier League and trying to finish the season as strongly as we can.
“Those conversations about keeping me in the club will happen at the right time, but at the moment I need to concentrate on playing games and finishing the season as strongly as we can.”
Dummett’s Season Of Mixed Emotions At St. James’ Park
Dummett has played a sporadic role in Steve Bruce’s first-team but has established himself as an important squad player for the Tyneside club. The 29-year-old has made 13 senior appearances for the Magpies this term, netting one goal in the process across all competitions.
The Welsh defensive ace has given a good account of himself on the defensive end of the field by averaging 1.2 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 4.5 clearances per game in this Premier League campaign. However, Dummett needs to improve his accuracy when distributing possession from the back, as evidenced by his pass completion rate of 73.6% in top-flight football (stats via whoscored).
Should The Magpies Offer Dummett A New Contract?
Dummett is a moderately paced central defender who can also operate as a left-back if needed. He is often quick to react to the danger and has got the tenacity to earn possession back for his team. The Welsh defender can also use his strong 1.83m frame to win a few important headers at the back but needs to take care of the ball better when playing his way out from the defensive end of the pitch.
Dummett’s current contract at St. James’ Park is set to run down at the end of this campaign but Newcastle have the option to extend his stay for another year. The way the five-time Wales international has been playing this season, it is only logical for the Magpies manager Steve Bruce to consider keeping hold of him by offering him a new deal as he has served as a useful squad player for them recently.
At 29, Dummett would believe that he has still got plenty of football left to offer to his boyhood club. Hence, the Tyneside giants should think about retaining the Welsh centre-half’s services for one more year and then make a calculated decision on his future based on how well he performs over the next 12 months.
