Newcastle United will hope to advance to the fifth round of the FA Cup this weekend, meeting Birmingham City in the Midlands.
Eddie Howe’s side are also battling to lift gold in England’s other top domestic competition, meeting Liverpool at Wembley in March’s final, and it’s all pointing toward a rather exciting business end to the 2024/25 campaign.
It didn’t always feel like it was going to be a barnstorming campaign for the Magpies, who had trundled out of the gates after a disappointing summer of spending.
But, fronted by the brilliant Alexander Isak, United are poised for a return to European competition and indeed have another shot at silverware, seeking to end a 70-year drought.
Isak is the key.
Alexander Isak's season in numbers
Mention the name Isak to Alan Shearer and you’ll get a stream of effusions about one of the best centre-forwards to have ever graced the Premier League pitch.
After all the ballyhoo, though, Isak truly is one of the finest goalscorers in the business, with Shearer labelling him as a “world-class assassin” during one recent striker-to-striker interview.
Newcastle’s stunning two-legged victory over Arsenal to set up a Carabao Cup final with Liverpool is all the buzz on Tyneside at the moment, but justly so.
Perhaps the biggest testament that could be bestowed upon the Sweden star’s skill set would be that he didn’t score or assist against Arsenal on Tuesday evening but still earned the roaring support of St. James’ Park and beyond, putting in a complete display that many other top strikers fail to produce.
He’s one of a kind, and Newcastle fans treasure the knowledge that he leads their line. However, PIF might never have authorised his sale had things worked out better with Chris Wood, who fell by the wayside in black and white but has since picked himself back up.
Why Newcastle sold Chris Wood
When Howe was anointed as Steve Bruce’s replacement, significant changes were made. It was January 2022. Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn reinforced the backline; Bruno Guimaraes marked a Galactico-esque addition to the midfield.
Newcastle were embroiled in a relegation battle but felt that they could leap from the pit of the Premier League with well-worked investment, and Wood was also targeted to strengthen the striking department.
Burnley’s talisman had been a consistent source of goals under Sean Dyche and was signed for a sizeable £25m fee, but he failed to replicate his solid striking record under Howe’s leadership.
Pundit Tam McManus commented that Wood looked “a bit lost” during his St. James’ Park stay, failing to slot into the frontal position with the kind of fluency that has been evidenced with other English clubs.
Despite reaching double figures in all four of his full Premier League campaigns with the Clarets, Wood only managed to notch five strikes across 39 fixtures for Newcastle, with his target-man-like style not quite working in Howe’s set-up.
The New Zealand native was only ever a stop-gap, and United chiefs will be happy to have convinced Nottingham Forest to pay £15m to take him off their hands.
They will be less chuffed, however, with his success over the past two campaigns.
Chris Wood's incredible campaign
Wood joined Forest on loan in January 2023, with his move turning permanent the following summer. The 33-year-old’s journey at the City Ground has been remarkable, posting 33 goals across just 67 appearances.
Last season, the Kiwi striker provided Forest with the perfect focal presence as they fought to stave off relegation from the Premier League, Nuno Espirito Santo replacing Steve Cooper before Christmas.
The Tricky Trees did their job, with Wood scoring 14 goals across 31 top-flight matches. However, few – if any – will have foreseen Wood’s incredible performances this season,
1.
Mohamed Salah
23
21
2.
Erling Haaland
24
19
3.
Alexander Isak
22
17
3=
Chris Wood
24
17
5.
Cole Palmer
24
14
5=
Bryan Mbeumo
24
14
The fact that Wood is scoring as many as Isak in the Premier League bears testament to his experience and success as the spear-point of Nuno’s high-flying Forest side.
Last time out in the Premier League, Forest decimated Brighton & Hove Albion, putting seven past the South Coast side. Naturally, the 6 foot 3 titan claimed a hat-trick.
Digging deeper into the forward’s brilliance, Wood has triumphed with a balanced approach to his shooting, scoring nine Premier League goals with his right foot, six with his head and two with his left, as per Sofascore. This level of protean threat has given Nuno the perfect focal point, capable of scoring from every which way.
Wood actually ranks among the top 10% of centre-forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for goals scored per 90, as per FBref, highlighting the quality that Newcastle saw in him. He differs greatly from Isak but could have been the perfect foil in a fully functioning Howe system.
With Callum Wilson barely featuring this term as he succumbs to injury problems and approaches the end of his contract and the 21-year-old William Osula, signed from Sheffield United for a £15m fee last summer – yet to start in the English top-flight as he continues to develop – this would have been quite the dimension – perhaps proving the difference-maker in a side that is already riding the crest of a wave.
Wood’s failure to hit the mark on Tyneside doesn’t really matter now that Isak is banging them in for fun, but he earned a big wage at £80k per week and Newcastle lost £10m in straight transfer funding on a player who offered very little.
That said, the new era was bound to have one or two blunders on the market, and the overall success of the strategy has negated the fumble with this one.
Howe may have unearthed his own Nobby Solano in Newcastle's "unsung hero"
Newcastle brushed Arsenal aside over two legs to advance to the final of the Carabao Cup.
ByAngus Sinclair Feb 6, 2025