In a recent interview with Football Insider, former England right-back Danny Mills labeled Newcastle United forward Callum Wilson’s injury absence as a big blow for the Tyneside club. Mills said, “It’s a big blow.
“Newcastle’s squad is very thin. You’re looking at Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin, the stars who are going to create something out of nothing. They can give you that little bit of hope.
“They’ve just got to hang in and get through this very difficult situation which Steve Bruce has been in many, many times before.”
Wilson’s Decent Debut Season At Tyneside
It was an impressive debut campaign for Wilson at St. James’ Park as he managed to put in a series of fruitful performances as the spearhead of Steve Bruce’s attack. The former Bournemouth attacker registered 12 goals and securing five assists in 28 matches for the Magpies last season in multiple competitions.
The Coventry-born marksman proved himself to be a constant menace inside the opposition penalty box after he averaged 3.3 shots and 1.0 dribbles per game in the 2020-21 Premier League campaign. However, Wilson was a bit untidy when distributing the ball in the opponent’s half as he only made 65.5% of his attempted passes in the English top tier (stats via whoscored).
Can The Magpies Cope Without Wilson?
Wilson has been quite injury-prove over the past few seasons but on his day, he can still be a deadly striker up top. The English talent has proven his worth as an impressive finisher in front of the opponent’s goal. He can even use his pace to make some encouraging runs with the ball behind the opposition backline but needs to be more careful when linking up play with his teammates in the final third.
At the moment, Wilson remains Steve Bruce’s most potent weapon, so his current injury absence is undoubtedly a massive blow for the Magpies boss, based on his team’s performances in recent weeks. With two important away matches coming up against Watford and Wolves, Newcastle will struggle to cope without their main forward.
However, Bruce will hope that Allan Saint-Maximin can step up and bang in some goals for his team if the Magpies are to stand a chance of turning their fortunes around for the better before the next international break.
