Former Sunderland centre-forward Don Goodman says he’ll be surprised if Newcastle United don’t act before tomorrow’s transfer deadline to replace Chris Wood.
Toon manager Eddie Howe surprised many last week by allowing Wood to leave on-loan for Nottingham Forest for the remainder of the season. While not a regular, the Kiwi always performed impressively when called upon and there is some concern amongst the Toon support that Howe could find himself short of attacking options as they chase Champions League qualification.
For Goodman, Howe’s decision is a gamble, though the player’s position also needed to be taken into account.
On behalf of OLBG, Goodman told Tribalfootball.com: “To look at it from Chris Wood’s perspective, clearly, he’s third choice and he’s not going to get as many minutes as he would like.
“He’s the wrong side of 30, so he wants game time and wants to be playing.
“From his perspective, it’s a great move and until last season he had scored double figures in the Premier League, so he has pedigree at this level.
“He might have only scored twice so far this season, but he’s only started five games for Newcastle.
“From Nottingham Forest’s perspective, Wood is a physical presence and different to anything they’ve got.
“He’ll be a threat from set pieces, and I can see him linking up with Brennan Johnson and Morgan Gibbs-White really well.
“So, I think it’s a good fit for Nottingham Forest.
“From Newcastle’s perspective, it’s a tiny bit of a gamble if they’re not going to bring anyone else in to play there.
“Sunderland recently had all of their strikers out for quite some time and had to play a false nine.
“They actually did quite well in that period and Manchester City have obviously won the Premier League without a recognised striker, so it can be done.
“But it is a little bit of a gamble.”
Asked how he sees Wood’s departure impacting on the current Newcastle squad, Goodman continued: “I suppose at a push they could move Joelinton back to that position, although they wouldn’t want to lose his presence in midfield.
“I would imagine if Joelinton went up front now, from all the confidence he’s got from playing fantastically week in week out, then I think he would be a completely different player.
“I don’t think it would be the same Joelinton that Newcastle fans were watching as a number nine.
“It’s not ideal but it’s a potential back up plan.
“There’s still time left in the transfer window, so I’d be surprised if they didn’t have some sort of a plan B.”
