Newcastle United goalkeeper Freddie Woodman has admitted that he needs more minutes on the pitch amid interest from the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace.
Newcastle United currently face the prospect of having very few options to choose from in goal as the likes of Tim Krul and Karl Darlow are expected to follow Matz Sels out of the exit door at St. James’ Park this summer.
If both Krul and Darlow depart, Newcastle will be left with only Rob Elliot as their experienced goalkeeper in the squad and there has been talk that manager Rafael Benitez could elect to promote young Freddie Woodman as the Irish international’s understudy.
However, reports have claimed that Woodman is also attracting interest from a host of clubs as the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace are said to be keen on acquiring the 20-year-old.
Now Woodman has gone on to speak about his future amid the rumors and has stated that while he is not looking for a permanent exit from St. James’ Park, he needs regular first team football and is eyeing up a loan move in the coming days.
The 20-year-old was quoted saying by the Shields Gazette, “Ultimately, I need to be on the pitch. I need to be getting minutes and making mistakes on the football field – and learning from them – because that’s how you get better.
“I just want to get games, and if that means going on loan, then I want to do that. I want to play matches, continue my development and keep getting better. I’ll only do that by playing games and learning on the pitch.”
If Woodman also leaves on loan, Benitez will surely have to sign a new goalkeeper and Greek international Orestis Karnezis has been linked with the Magpies in recent times.