Newcastle United's £20m transfer 'bargain'
Callum Wilson has left Newcastle United as a free agent after making a huge contribution during his five years at St James' Park.
Callum Wilson took to the field for his Newcastle United debut almost five years ago at a near-empty London Stadium as the last of the shoppers headed home from the nearby Westfield shopping centre.
Wilson started as he meant to go on, with a goal in a 2-0 behind-closed-doors win over West Ham United.
Many of those Westfield shoppers will have found a bargain or two, but I wrote at the time that the biggest steal of the summer could turn out to be Wilson.
And so it turned out.
Contract decision
It was revealed this week that Wilson would not be returning to the club following the expiry of his last contract.
I will be honest. I did not fully appreciate just how good Wilson was when he joined Newcastle from Bournemouth, then managed by Eddie Howe, in a £20million deal in the summer of 2020.
But it did not take me long to realise that the club had bought an exceptional player.
Wilson made a positive impression on his first media appearance. He was relaxed and at ease in his new surroundings, and the journalists gathered for a media day in the training ground’s indoor barn got a sense of his infectious personality.
He handled the questions well, tackling everything with a smile.
The club would need Wilson’s positivity during a challenging period which straddled a change of ownership.
Fate would reunite Wilson with Howe – who had signed him from Coventry City at Bournemouth – on Tyneside in late 2021.
An ideal No.9
By then, Wilson had taken the club’s cherished No.9 jersey, previously worn by Joelinton.
It is a heavy shirt to wear, but Wilson ably took that responsibility on his shoulders – and brought many more goals to Newcastle. The No.9 jersey was a perfect fit for Wilson.
A natural finisher, he scored all kinds of goals for the club. He is a physical player who links intelligently with his team-mates inside and outside the box.
Wilson’s ability and attitude were never in question, though his availability was affected by a series of injuries. However, time and again at Bournemouth and Newcastle, Wilson recovered from setbacks, notably winning a place back in England’s squad for the 2022 World Cup after long spell out with a calf/Achilles injury.
It is not hard to see why Howe was keen for Wilson, a Carabao Cup winner with the club last season, to stay. The club had “opened discussions” with Wilson and goalkeeper John Ruddy, also out of contract, over new deals. Ruddy, 38, will stay on at the club.
Also, it is also not hard to see why Wilson, at this stage of his career, would want more first-team football, having spent a lot of time on the bench since the arrival of Alexander Isak.
In a message to fans, Wilson, 33, said: “Thank you for everything. We stood strong together through the highs and some lows to help the club experience new heights.”
Wilson, certainly, made a massive contribution to the cause during his five years at St James’ Park.
Now a free agent, another club will be getting a bargain.
Life’s a beach
In my early years as a football writer, the club’s players would be put through their paces on the beach at Tynemouth for one day after reporting back for the start of pre-season training.
The newspaper I worked for at the time would send a photographer to get some images of the squad’s annual trip to the seaside.
I looked through the photographs in the office, and identified every player bar one.
With a lot of help, I was eventually able to name the player.
It was a young Charles N’Zogbia, who had been developed by Le Havre. N’Zogbia would turn out to be the late, great Sir Bobby Robson’s last signing.
While the beach session was fun for the players – and provided some great photos for the media – it was not the best way to keep a prospective signing under wraps.
And, sadly but understandably, the beach sessions ended a long time ago.