Freddie Woodman’s dad has revealed that the highly-rated goalkeeper’s main goal is to become Newcastle United’s No.1.
This comes as a blow to Swansea fans hoping to sign the 24-year-old on a permanent deal following his loan spell with the Welsh side, with him keeping an outstanding 19 clean sheets this season.
That said, the players’ father and former NUFC coach Andy Woodman insists that his spell with the Championship side is a stepping stone to get to where he really wants to be – between the stick at St James’ Park.
Here’s what Andy’s had to say about his son’s form and future ahead of his return to Tyneside this summer:
“Freddie’s had a really great season,”
“Has he exceeded my expectations? No, never. I think all of these stepping stones he’s taken are with the main goal of being Newcastle’s No.1 goalie.
“He knows where he wants to get to.
“Freddie, with or without my help, he’s always known exactly how he’s going to do that. That’s stood him in good stead.”
Woodman senior then described what it meant to him to see his son make his senior debut at St James’ Park, believing he can go on to have a “very successful” career on Tyneside in time:
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“I was absolutely delighted,”
“Things like that can get underplayed in football careers, to make your debut for a massive club like Newcastle.
“I’ve been lucky enough for my son to make his debut, and I hope, in time, he will go on to be very successful at Newcastle – I really mean that.”
Woodman is on England’s radar having represented his country at every level from U16 to U21’s, however he faces a real fight on his hands to become our No.1 stopper.
With Martin Dubravka our reigning player of the year and Karl Darlow performing admirably in the Slovakian’s absence this season, one of those two will surely have to leave if Woodman wants to break into our first-team picture.
He has age on his side and could be a future star for us, but we must manage his game time carefully over the coming year, with the likes of Arsenal linked with a move.
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