Newcastle United finally have a clinical finisher who is scoring goals for fun this season.
Newcastle United have been one of the lowest-scoring teams in the Premier League in the last three seasons. With an average of 40 goals (rounded) per season since the 2017-18 campaign, which is only two more goals than games played in a season, it is not difficult to see why the Magpies struggle to break into the top ten.
Fortunately for the Toon, the team finally has a striker who is confident and lethal in front of goal. With seven goals to his name already this season, Callum Wilson is off to a flying start.
Wilson’s current tally has him ranked as the fourth-best striker in the Premier League, only three goals shy of the Golden Boot.
Newcastle United enjoyed success on the front line during the 2018-19 season when Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon scored a combined total of 23 goals, but it has been 17 years since a single player scored over 20 goals in a Premier League campaign for the Magpies.
Legendary striker Alan Shearer was the last player to achieve that objective when he was the second-highest scorer in the Premier League with 22 goals during the 2003/04 campaign.
Wilson already matched an impressive record that was set by Les Ferdinand in 1995 by scoring four goals in his first four games for the club.
Wilson now has his sights set on scoring 20 goals this season to join Andy Cole, Les Ferdinand, and Alan Shearer as the only players in club history to reach that impressive milestone. Based on what we have seen from Wilson this season, he is more than capable of banging in 13 more goals.
Newcastle United were blessed with a balanced fixture list this season in terms of difficulty, so he can do it. It will all come down to two things, though. Firstly, Wilson will need to stay fit. The England international has already missed one game due to a minor hamstring problem.
Secondly, Steve Bruce’s tactical decisions will determine how much of an impact Wilson will have, but Bruce did hint at more attacking football going forward.
The supporting cast behind him has sufficient talent to set him up with goals, but I will re-visit this topic multiple times to track Wilson’s progress over the course of the season.