Callum Wilson shows his importance to Newcastle but he needs service

Add as preferred source on Google

It only took Callum Wilson two minutes to ignite the new Newcastle United era, but the striker desperately needs more service and quality around him to thrive.

The Newcastle number nine showed those predatory instincts the team has been missing when he got ahead of Cristian Romero to head home Javier Manquillo’s cross, and sent the St James’ Park crowd, including the new owners, into a sense of hysteria.

But things quickly unravelled for Steve Bruce on his 1,000th game in management and Newcastle’s defensive flaws were horribly exposed once again.

After shipping a league high 19 goals from just eight Premier League games, the urgent need for defensive reinforcements in January was highlighted.

But beyond his goal, Wilson’s lack of involvement at the other end of the pitch also showed that an injection of creativity beyond Allan Saint-Maximin is also required.

Need Wilson involved more

Left-back Matt Ritchie (72) had the most touches of any Newcastle player. But in comparison to his former Bournemouth teammate, Wilson had 21 touches, which was 12 less than any other Newcastle starter.

After being substituted in the 77th minute, Wilson finished the match with just six passes, three of which he successfully completed.

Substitutes Ryan Fraser and Jacob Murphy who both came in the 77th minute managed seven passes each during their brief time on the pitch.

Highlighting his vast importance to this Newcastle side, two of Wilson’s three completed passes were key passes, which was more than any other Magpies player (WhoScored).

After linking up well with Joelinton, Wilson nearly picked out Saint-Maximin in the six yard box after playing the ball through Emerson’s legs.

It’s not rocket science, the more Callum Wilson is involved in the game, the better Newcastle’s chances of survival are.

But if he remains on the periphery and lives off scraps, his lack of involvement in games could well continue.

January is going to be crucial for Newcastle, yes we need defenders, but we need a lot more than that.

We need midfielders who can get on the ball and dominate possession and we need some additional firepower alongside Saint-Maximin and Wilson.

With 15 Premier League goals from 30 games, when Wilson is fit he usually delivers, he just needs the ammunition.