£5.4m-rated Newcastle dud who lost the ball every 1.9 touches flopped big time today - opinion

Newcastle United continue their unbeaten run in the Premier League in a revival which has now seen the side pull themselves away from the relegation zone, creating a seven-point gap between themselves in 14th and the drop zone.

The Magpies worked hard to hold onto all three points against Brighton at St James’ Park on Saturday, scoring their two goals within the first 15 minutes before forced to spend the rest of the game defending their lead. It became a tighter challenge when Graham Potter’s side finally broke down the Newcastle defence, with Lewis Dunk finding the net in the 55th minute.

Eddie Howe’s team ultimately claimed all three points, but it wasn’t a comfortable win by any means, with certain players failing to impose themselves effectively throughout. For instance, Chris Wood struggled to have an influence yet again.

Newcastle’s January signing is yet to score for his new club, and while other attacking threats able to convert their chances on Saturday, the former Burnley forward got away with his lack of goals. However, it is hard to ignore just how ineffective Wood was against Brighton.

According to SofaScore, the £5.4m-rated flop lost the ball with every 1.9 touches, had zero shots, failed with 100% of his dribbles and lost 65% of his duels, which will be disappointing for Howe as the side continue to challenge for safety in the Premier League this season.

Luckily for Newcastle, they don’t seem to be missing a talented striker at the moment due to the attacking threat being distributed throughout the team, while the creativity on the wings have been helping to rack up the points needed for them to escape the nerves of a relegation fight in the remaining months. However, the return of Callum Wilson is one