Chris Wood to Newcastle United: A Good Striker Signing for the Magpies?

Chris Wood compared to other striker targets?

This is where it starts to get a little tricky. Wood would not have been Newcastle’s first or even third choice as a signing. Yet, the emergence of a release clause makes him a quick signing to pull off on the eve of a huge game against Watford.

Also, taking a crucial player off Burnley plays a role in making it a signing that works on multiple levels. However, comparing him to 3 other striker targets for Newcastle suggests that when Eddie Howe says they might still sign another striker, there’s a good reason behind it.

Strong links are emerging for Reims’ 19-year-old French striker Hugo Ekitike. The young forward is having an excellent season, with a goal contribution every 87 minutes. He has an npxG of 0.41 per 90 and far exceeds that in his npGoal return with 0.73 — a possibly unsustainable overperformance but encouraging nonetheless.

He also comes out very well on his other underlying metrics with good creativity numbers, strong dribbling and excellent pressing data. At 19, he could be an excellent addition not only to help them towards survival this season but also for his potential in the future.

Another forward option the Toons have been linked with is Anthony Martial of Manchester United. His desire to leave the club is well known and he fits the profile of the kind of marquee signing to announce under the new ownership.

While he’s not had the best year and his relatively poor underlying numbers reflect that, he has great natural ability in his dribbling and finishing while already being accustomed to the pace of the Premier League. He can play as an inside left-winger too and seems one of the more attainable big-name targets for Newcastle at this time.

The third striker they’re linked with is arguably the pick of the bunch, Patrik Shick. The Czech forward has 17 goals in 15 league games so far this campaign following on from an impressive showing at the Euros in the summer.

He blows Chris Wood — and even Callum Wilson — out of the water with his underlyings, with an elite tier npxG of 0.64 and even better npG of 0.77 per 90 over the last year.

He’s strong in the air and has incredible ability to take up threatening positions in the box, reflected in his top-tier numbers for progressive passes received in the box and touches in the box.

If the rumors are true that Newcastle have been quoted a 50m or so price by Bayer Leverkusen for the 25-year-old, it would be a no-brainer for them to meet it and attempt to convince him to join the project.

Verdict on Chris Wood signing for Newcastle United

Thus, a quick look at Newcastle’s other targets suggests that Chris Wood clearly wouldn’t have been high up their choice list and might not see much pitch time if they were to secure any of their top targets.

But in the now, he’s a needs-based signing that could potentially make an impact in an imminent relegation 6-pointer and have played a crucial role in their survival bid on some level, thus setting the platform for a potentially grand summer rebuild.