Danny Mills says Newcastle could upgrade 30 y/o due to ‘fitness issues’

Newcastle United are 14th in the Premier League for goals (32), 11th in the league for shots (12.1 per game) and have scored one or less goals in 21 of their 29 games this season, so it’s clear Eddie Howe needs to bolster his attack over the summer.

The Magpies’ boss has Callum Wilson, Chris Wood and Dwight Gayle who can operate up front, but Wilson has missed half the campaign with hamstring and calf injuries, Wood has scored just one goal in 10 games and Gayle is surplus to requirements.

Danny Mills says Newcastle need to bring in a striker, as he doesn’t trust Wilson to last a full season without picking up a knock. He told Football Insider: “They’ve brought in some good signings – Dan Burn, Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes. They don’t need to replace those. (But) they might need another centre-forward with Callum Wilson’s fitness issues.”

The 30-year-old joined Newcastle on a four-year deal from Bournemouth in 2020 and has gone on to make 43 appearances in all competitions, scoring 18 goals with five assists. Wilson missed 12 league games in his debut season due to a hamstring injury and has missed 14 this campaign.

He’s not proving trustworthy, even if his goal to game ratio is an impressive 41%, so Mills might be right in his assessment. Newcastle need a prolific striker who misses very few games a season and that isn’t Wilson, so Howe might be looking to upgrade when the summer transfer window opens.

In other news, Christian Atsu’s Newcastle exit hasn’t gone to plan