Newcastle could move on from Wilson in late swoop for “electric” star

Newcastle United have not struggled for goals in the Premier League this season because they have one of the most lethal forwards in the division.

Only Mohamed Salah (19) and Erling Haaland (18) have scored more goals than Alexander Isak (17) in the top-flight, which illustrates how prolific the Sweden international has been.

The Daily Mail recently reported that Arsenal are interested in the striker, who is valued at £120m, but he is expected to stay until the summer, at least.

Whilst Isak, who also scored 21 Premier League goals last term, has enjoyed another incredible season for the Magpies, it has not been a good time for the other senior centre-forward at the club – Callum Wilson.

Why it is time to move on from Callum Wilson

He has only made four appearances in all competitions this season, with zero goals and zero assists, due to back and hamstring injuries that have kept him out for 27 matches combined.

The England international has missed a staggering 112 games through injury since he moved to the club from Bournemouth in the summer of 2020.

Wilson has, simply, not been reliable enough with his availability to be a consistent option for Eddie Howe in the Premier League, as evidenced by his 24 Premier League appearances since the start of last season.

His contract at St. James’ Park is due to expire this summer and Newcastle should finally move on from the English centre-forward, due to his consistent injury issues, and they could do that by bringing in another striker to replace him in the current transfer window.

It was recently reported in Italy that Milan have offered Swiss forward Noah Okafor to both Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur, which means that they could make a late swoop for him before the deadline.

Why Newcastle should sign Noah Okafor

Firstly, the Switzerland international has been available more frequently than Wilson over the last 18 months, with 39 appearances for Milan in the Serie A, which suggests that he would be more likely to be available to Howe week-in-week-out.

Okafor, who analyst Ben Mattinson once praised for having “electric” pace, is also a striker who has the potential to offer quality on the pitch if the Magpies boss can get him back to his best.

The 24-year-old speedster has only managed one goal in 11 league matches for Milan this season, but did show glimpses of his quality in front of goal last term.

As you can see in the table above, Okafor can provide quality as a super substitute for his side, as he was directly involved in eight goals and significantly outperformed his xG in limited starts last season.

This suggests that the striker, who scored seven goals in 11 starts in the Austrian Bundesliga for RB Salzburg in the 2022/23 campaign, could be the perfect signing to come in a back-up to Isak.

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He has proven that he can be effective coming off the bench in a major European league and has the availability to offer more to the team than Wilson has over the last 18 months, which is why Newcastle should take up this chance to bring him to the club in a late move.

Having Okafor and Isak in the squad would, then, allow the Magpies to finally part ways with Wilson in the summer when his contract expires, as Howe would have two senior, recognised, striker options.