Freddie Woodman could leave Newcastle United this summer because ‘there is no clear path for him’ to the first team, according to Chronicle Live journalist Mark Douglas.
The lowdown
Woodman impressed on loan at Championship side Swansea City this season, keeping a league-high 21 clean sheets.
The 24-year-old also featured in The Athletic’s team of the season for the division as a result of his heroics as he helped the Swans to reach Saturday’s play-off final, in which they were beaten 2-0 by Brentford.
The latest
Douglas reported that Swansea are keen on a permanent move for the 24-year-old, who has signalled that he wants to play regular football and ‘is hinting’ that he wants to stay in south Wales.
That may not be possible at Newcastle given that Martin Dubravka signed a six-year contract during the 2019/20 season and ‘is an important voice in the dressing room‘. Karl Darlow is then ‘next in line‘ behind the Slovakian.
Arsenal, where Woodman’s father previously worked as a goalkeeping coach, could also be among his suitors.
Douglas reckons that £15m is a realistic price tag if Newcastle were to sanction a sale. That deal, though, should include ‘smart clauses’ such as first refusal on future moves or a ‘hefty sell-on’. [Chronicle Live]
The verdict
Newcastle need to box clever here. Dubravka is a more than capable number one who delivered some strong performances after his return from injury in the spring and, right now, it makes little sense to deny Woodman a lucrative move in order to keep him as a rarely-used backup.
It has been reported that, with Mike Ashley intent on selling the club, Newcastle may have as little as £12m to spend this summer – this deal could more than double their transfer budget.
If they can insert one of the clauses mentioned above, it would be a no-brainer for the Magpies to cash in on the 24-year-old.
In other news, Newcastle are in pole position to land this teenage forward.
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