Newcastle: Eddie Howe could drop £25m star at St James' Park

Chris Wood‘s goalscoring numbers have been “worrying” since he joined Newcastle, according to Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie.

The striker made the £25m switch from Burnley in the winter window but he has scored just twice in his first three-and-a-half months as a Toon Army player.

When Wood joined Newcastle, he wasn’t exactly enjoying a prolific campaign in front of goal, having scored just three goals in 17 Premier League appearances for the Clarets.

But Wood’s struggles have simply continued on Tyneside. He took eight appearances before he got off the mark against Southampton, although he’s found the net just once more in his next six games, leaving his overall tally at a disappointing two goals in 14 matches.

According to WhoScored, the 30-year-old has been Newcastle’s seventh-best player this season with a rating of 6.87.

However, Wood has scored less than 10 per cent of the Magpies’ goals since he arrived and was dropped from the side for the weekend victory over Norwich, which moved Eddie Howe’s side into the top half.

And Downie reckons that the New Zealand international will find himself on the bench more often than not once Newcastle bring in a striker in the upcoming summer transfer window.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “I think they need a striker. Callum Wilson has got his injury problems and Chris Wood has scored twice in 14 games.

“Yes, he’s performed fairly well, but that’s a worrying stat given the amount of goals the team have scored, and he’s missed chances as well, so I see Wood being a backup striker moving forward.”

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Even Wilson, who’s currently out injured, recently said that Newcastle were one striker short in January even