It’s time to admit it: Callum Wilson will most likely leave NUFC this summer.
The debate over whether or not to sell him has raged since last summer, and I was solidly in favour of keeping him.
Beyond his goal tally and ratio, especially near the end of last season, what I admire most about Wilson is his determination. We had a peek of that in the We Are United documentary: the sorrow when he doesn’t start. The motivation to rejoin the squad and perform better. When he doesn’t start, he performs admirably. Consider that period from last season.
But there’s no doubting he’s barely fit and has lost at least a few yards of speed. It’s unfortunate that, when he was arguably most capable of running around and creating as well as scoring, Bruce ordered him to camp in his own half rather than spend the entire game isolated in the opponent half. However, it made his work rate and ambitions even more amazing.
Until this season, he did the same thing: he was always willing to put in the effort beyond simply hanging around as a target man, and he still scored goals for joy.
Injuries have reduced his pace and enthusiasm, and he is now more static. In a squad featuring Gordon and Bruno, that shouldn’t be an issue, but he’s starting to appear isolated up front. Furthermore, he is nearing the end of his contract and has just turned 32, so this summer may be our last chance to secure a reasonable compensation.
I was, obviously, solidly in favour of keeping him in January. Given how prone both of our strikers are to injury, selling him would have been a terrible idea. That fact was verified when Isak sustained an injury shortly after.
But, in a twist of destiny that any NUFC fan might have predicted, he suffered a freak injury against Forest that could terminate his season. To his ***, of all things. Absolutely outrageous, yet exactly in line with this crazy season.
Nobody could have (really) guessed that we’d lose him for the rest of the season so quickly after keeping him. Nobody could have predicted that surgery on his pec would be the final straw!
What has shocked me is the response online. People are talking about him as if he’s to fault for his injury history, and they’d be pleased to see him go. Really not the way our third-highest Premier League striker should be treated after 26 goals in the last season and a half?!
Yes, he suffers from injuries, which are tragic but not his fault, and he is currently dealing with one that is particularly uncommon. Yes, he has lost some pace, most likely due to all of his ailments. But his attitude has never wavered, and he’s been an absolutely fantastic number nine for us.
I don’t want to accept he should leave in the summer because I almost feel bad about it, but he deserves more game time than he gets here now if we can keep Isak healthy and bring in another striker (a HUGE priority this summer).
He deserves to be cherished by a new group of supporters if he moves elsewhere and starts – and there are so many teams where he’d be the first name on the team sheet when fit.
Thank you, Callum Wilson. Thank you for the memories – celebrating the first goal I saw you score in person in Doncaster, before nearly falling down the stairs giddily singing HEYYYYY, CALLUM WILSON.
Everton away and Manchester United at home have been particularly prolific in terms of goals in recent seasons. For being unapologetically you and self-confident. For being a real NUFC number 9 and a great guy to boot. I will miss you.
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