Wood and Darlow set to leave Newcastle

Two senior players look set to leave Newcastle United this month with Karl Darlow and Chris Wood both leaving on loan.

Wood arrived just last January from Burnley in a bid to help Newcastle avoid relegation. The transfer raised a lot of eyebrows when the New Zealand international was signed for £25M—it wasn’t the type of striker many had hoped the club would go for.

It was, though, a successful move. Wood chipped in with some vital goals during his short time on Tyneside, he’s decided opinion with supporters as many believe he should have more goals to his name.

Wood also missed a glorious opportunity in the FA Cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, and since then a number of supporters have shown their frustration with the striker.

There now appears to be a way out for Wood with a loan move to Nottingham Forest nearing completion; the move reportedly includes a must-buy clause on Forest’s side—a smart little piece of business from Newcastle. Whether Wood performs well and helps keep Forest in the Premier League, or in the event the side gets relegated, they will need to fully acquire the Kiwi on their way to the Championship.

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Darlow is being chased by Huddersfield Town and Hull City, with the Tigers looking like they’ve stolen a march on their Championship rivals. Head coach Liam Rosenior spoke to Radio Humberside yesterday:

“We’ve got interest in one or two options and hopefully that gets done really soon.”

“I am really excited about that one because it’s the calibre that we want at the club, and it’s the calibre of player who has been there and done it.”

After Loris Karius announced the extension of his deal until the end of the current campaign, it’s left the club with five ‘keepers on their books. As a result, Darlow looks set to leave the club.

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If Newcastle are taking a watching brief in this window so far, this is due to their inflated squad. They desperately need to ship some players out before they can bring anyone else in.

It’s not the news supporters will want to hear but the club has a lot of unwanted fat that needs to be trimmed first. The likes of Matt Ritchie, Javier Manquillo, Paul Dummett, Matty Longstaff, Ryan Fraser, and Jamal Lewis are all surplus to requirements along with Dwight Gayle, Jeff Hendrick, and Isaac Hayden likely to be off the books permanently in the summer.

The squad needs a massive overhaul and supporters will see a lot of movement both in and out of the club in the summer—definitely an easier window to operate in.

With Darlow and Wood moving on there will be a bit more wiggle room for Newcastle, and it will result in one or two incomings before the end of the month.

Or at least, that’s what we hope for.