According to The Athletic, Newcastle loan manager Shola Ameobi has received “glowing reports” on the performances of Freddie Woodman during his spell at Swansea.
The 23-year-old’s stint at Swansea has been described as ‘excellent’, with his 11 clean sheets and string of penalty saves clearly catching the eye on Tyneside.
This will be music to the ears of Steve Bruce, with Woodman being another Newcastle Under-23 – along with Dan Barlaser and Kelland Watts – to have benefited from regular game time in the EFL this season.
That said, The Athletic’s Chris Waugh reveals how the young goalkeeper’s future on Tyneside remains unclear.
The player himself has already confirmed his desire to return to Swansea next season for more regular first-team football at Championship level, but Waugh insists that he must sign contract extension on Tyneside to allow that to happen – with his current deal at Newcastle set to expire next summer.
To sign an extension he will likely want assurances that he’ll be part of Steve Bruce’s first-team plans before long, but are those promises he can make while Martin Dubravka is around? Given how good the Slovakian has been between the sticks, I doubt it.
With him keen to develop at domestic level and push on from England U-21 to Gareth Southgate’s senior side at some stage, I can’t see him sticking around much longer if his long-term path to first-team football is blocked by Dubravka.
What would you like to see us do with Woodman once he returns from Swansea at the end of the season?
