---
title: "Newcastle: Eddie Howe ready to take striker ‘gamble’"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/newcastle-transfer-news-eddie-howe-ready-to-take-striker-gamble/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "David Comerford"
section: "Newcastle United News"
published: "2022-07-18T20:15:18Z"
modified: "2022-07-18T20:15:18Z"
---

# Newcastle: Eddie Howe ready to take striker ‘gamble’

**[Newcastle United](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/newcastle-united-news/) are ready to go into the new season without signing a new starting striker, according to [The Daily Mail](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11022293/Eddie-Howe-ready-gamble-fitness-Callum-Wilson-season-rely-forward-20-goals.html)‘s [Craig Hope](https://twitter.com/CraigHope_DM/status/1548706734742671361).**

### The lowdown

The Magpies have tried to sign at least two centre-forwards already this summer, but they encountered frustration in those pursuts.

They [agreed a £25m deal](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11022293/Eddie-Howe-ready-gamble-fitness-Callum-Wilson-season-rely-forward-20-goals.html) with Reims for Hugo Ekitike, but then had to contend with ‘excessive demands’ by the player’s agent and duly walked away from the deal. The 20-year-old has now moved to the French champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Their plan B was seemingly Chelsea’s Armando Broja but, [according to Hope](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11022293/Eddie-Howe-ready-gamble-fitness-Callum-Wilson-season-rely-forward-20-goals.html), the Albanian is now likely to join West Ham.

### The latest

Hope [wrote on Twitter](https://twitter.com/CraigHope_DM/status/1548706734742671361) that Newcastle manager Eddie Howe is ‘ready to gamble on’ the fitness of Callum Wilson’, adding that ‘after missing out on top target Hugo Ekitike’, the 44-year-old is willing to retain faith in the ex-Bournemouth marksman as the Magpies’ ‘main striker’.

In the corresponding [Daily Mail](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11022293/Eddie-Howe-ready-gamble-fitness-Callum-Wilson-season-rely-forward-20-goals.html) article, Hope added that the bulk of Newcastle’s remaining money is likely to be spent on a new winger.

\[freshpress-quiz id=”398104″\]

### The verdict

Why is this such a risk?

Wilson has shown he can be a reliable goalscorer in his two years at St James’ Park, [netting 20 times](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/callum-wilson/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/123682/verein/762) in his 46 appearances for the club so far. However, that appearance tally is precisely the problem – it works out at only 23 games per season.

Indeed, since he joined Newcastle, the 30-year-old has picked up [six separate injuries](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/callum-wilson/verletzungen/spieler/123682), the worst of which sidelined him from late December until the start of May as he missed almost half of last season.

\[freshpress-poll id=”403299″\]

In the absence of Wilson, the Magpies do seem to lack of a bit of firepower. They paid [£25m](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jan/13/newcastle-chris-wood-admits-he-never-imagined-25m-release-fee-being-paid-burnley) to sign Chris Wood from Burnley in January but, in return, they have received just [one non-penalty goal in 17 matches](https://fbref.com/en/squads/b2b47a98/Newcastle-United-Stats).

After Wilson ([eight](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/newcastle-united/top-scorers)), their second-highest scorer in 2021/22 was Allan Saint-Maximin, who [only managed five goals](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/newcastle-united/top-scorers).

Could this be a glaring weakness for Newcastle next season? It’s no wonder that Hope has called it a ‘gamble’ by Howe if the Magpies don’t add a centre-forward over the coming weeks.