Steve Bruce could use goalkeeper Freddie Woodman as bait to help lure Joe Willock back to Tyneside, according to The Chronicle.
The England U20 World Cup winner has barely been given a chance at Newcastle but has impressed on loan at Swansea in the last two seasons.
Martin Dubravka and Karl Darlow are both ahead of him in the St James’ Park pecking order, with Woodman finding opportunities difficult to come by.
Bruce has made resigning Willock his top priority but media reports suggest that money could be tight as long as Mike Ashley is still in charge of the club.
Arsenal are keen to add an English goalkeeper to their ranks and 24-year old Woodman would provide stern competition for first-choice Bernd Leno.
However, a stumbling block in any deal could be that Woodman is desperate for first-team football; he has had a taste for being number one at Swansea and it is unlikely he will want to warm the bench elsewhere.
He is the natural successor to Dubravka at NUFC but the Slovakian shot stopper is only 32-years-old – a relatively young age for a goalkeeper.
The Woodman conundrum is recurring dilemma that Newcastle must tackle each summer but you feel as though his Toon career is on a knife-edge over the coming months.
You can’t blame the player for wanting to leave if he feels as though his career is being stifled at our club – and you can’t blame us for exploring this route if it sees us re-sign Willock.
Not Woodman FFS. Watched him a couple of times and he is awful.
tony gooner(Quote)
They can have Dubravka if it means getting Willock back!!
Sharpy17(Quote)