MY ACCOUNT
Newcastle are firing on all cylinders — and Callum Wilson is spearheading their charge for Champions League football.
Only the top two, Arsenal and Manchester City, have scored more than the Magpies’ 28 goals, with Wilson directly involved in over a quarter of those strikes.
Thanks to his stunning recent performances, the 30-year-old marksman has earned a spot in England’s World Cup squad.
Hoping to shake off an illness to face Chelsea on Saturday before flying out to Qatar, we take a look at what the Tynesiders’ No9 brings to the table.
Hot streak
Wilson has been in undeniably impressive form of late, netting three times and registering an assist in his last three Premier League appearances.
He was absent for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win against Crystal Palace — but was instrumental in the victories over Tottenham and Aston Villa last month.
The ex-Bournemouth man was especially ruthless against Villa, playing a part in three of his side’s four goals in a clinical attacking performance.
Backing from the boss
Magpies manager Eddie Howe was effusive in his praise of Wilson after his talisman earned a Three Lions call-up.
He said: “It’s an amazing thing for him individually and I’m sure his family.
“Callum has had a difficult career. It’s not always been about the successes. He’s had huge successes and he’s risen from the lower leagues to the Premier League and now the national squad at a World Cup.
“It’s been a brilliant thing for me to witness first-hand. When you see how it’s been achieved, you see it’s been through dedication, consistency to his work, a really positive mindset.
“Even sometimes when he got injured, his first instinct was always, ‘I’m going to come back better’ and then he put the work in to come back better so it’s not just talk with Callum. He actually delivers.
“He’s got a way of scoring goals, a uniqueness about him, so I’m delighted for him. I hope he can go and make a real impact.”
Injury issues
As Howe highlighted, Wilson’s progress has frequently been hampered by injury issues.
This season, the striker was sidelined for over a month with a hamstring problem — he did not feature between the 3-3 draw with Manchester City on August 21 or the 4-1 win over Fulham on October 1.
It has been an all-too-common occurrence for the Coventry native, who has been ruled out on five separate occasions since the start of 2021 with the same issue.
Last season, Wilson was also out from December 2021 to May 2022 with a calf injury.
But when he does take to the field, there is no denying the striker’s goalscoring talents.
Getting among the goals
When he is fit and firing, Wilson has proven himself to be a centre forward of real quality.
His six goals in just 780 Premier League minutes works out at a more than respectable rate of 0.69 per 90.
Additionally, only two players — City’s Erling Haaland and Leeds’ Patrick Bamford — have racked up a better expected goals (xG) per 90 tally than the Newcastle star’s 0.71, demonstrating his ability to consistently get into dangerous shooting positions.
Magpies magic
A deeper look at the underlying statistics reveals that Wilson poses a varied threat for the Magpies.
Remove the sole penalty he took (and scored) and his non-penalty expected goals per 90 still comes in at 0.62, which ranks inside the Premier League’s top five players.
Of that total, 0.19 comes from set-play expected goals per 90 — only Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi has been more dangerous attacking dead-ball deliveries.
If Newcastle can keep Wilson free from injury, there is no reason he cannot continue plundering goals on Tyneside.
And do not rule out the four-cap international grabbing any opportunities he is handed by England boss Gareth Southgate in the coming weeks either.
