£20m Newcastle player has ‘strong connection’ to West Ham United, he could leave

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Journalist Alex Crook is now claiming that one Newcastle United player has a strong connection with West Ham who could be a potential destination for them in January.

Eddie Howe has confirmed that he would ideally like to keep this group together but that Newcastle may be forced to sell a player if a decent fee comes in to bring in a new signing.

Crook has been speaking on Premier League All Access podcast where he claimed that West Ham could be a potential suitor for Callum Wilson in the next few days.

West Ham could make late push for Newcastle talisman

Wilson is probably one of two players who Newcastle would consider selling for the right price in this window with Miguel Almiron also potentially on the market in the next few days.

The striker has been very prolific for the Magpies managing to maintain an impressive record of almost a goal in every other game since joining from Bournemouth for £20m back in 2020.

But it’s been his fitness record which is a major concern for Newcastle and has often left them very short in attack with Alexander Isak currently the only fit striker in the team.

Having said that, West Ham could use someone of his quality up front and may be able to manage his minutes better by rotating between him and his football podcast partner Michail Antonio.

On the podcast, Crook said: “Eddie Howe did leave it open-ended when asked about the future of certain players before this game [Fulham].

“He was pretty staunch that Trippier wouldn’t be going anywhere, wants to keep Almiron, and ideally would like to keep Callum Wilson but did say we’re in a situation where if somebody comes in with a bid, then we are susceptible to it.

“And I think Callum possibly is looking at one last big transfer. He’s 31 years of age now.

“There’s been talk of Saudi Arabia, but I know that when he was approached in the summer, he wasn’t particularly keen on that.

“I could see West Ham because there’s a strong connection between the people who represent Callum Wilson and that particular football club.

“So, I think that’s one to keep an eye on between now and Thursday.”

Newcastle can’t afford to lose a striker

While they are looking to selling someone if they can get enough money, Newcastle can’t really afford to lose a striker unless they have another one in mind who they know they could snap up very quickly.

As previously mentioned, Newcastle have often only had one fit and available striker for a large part of the season, so shipping one of those out leaves them in an even more tricky position.

The club are also very keen to bring in a new midfielder if they are going to sign anyone so funds raised elsewhere would likely be used in that area and it’s unclear if it would be enough to bring in more than one new face.

Selling to a direct rival like West Ham who are battling against Newcastle for a European position also makes little sense unless they can receive a fee that they simply couldn’t turn down.