Former Arsenal star and €60m goal machine – Callum Wilson alternatives Newcastle could sign

Newcastle United have a big decision to make over Callum Wilson’s future as new sporting director Paul Mitchell assesses the Magpies’ squad.

The Magpies were already busy in the transfer market following the arrivals of Lloyd Kelly, Odysseas Vlachodimos and John Ruddy, as well as selling Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh for a combined £68m.

Newcastle have also had to drum up interest in their star players Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak, while the futures of Miguel Almiron and Wilson remain uncertain.

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Newcastle are looking to sign a new right winger and a new centre-back, and the expectation is that Almiron could be on the move if they are successful in the first of those deals.

And with Wilson, Newcastle are considering their options as the England international striker enters the final year of his contract at St James’ Park.

After an injury-ravaged campaign, the Magpies will have to seriously consider whether it is worth cashing in on the 32-year-old, who has attracted interest from West Ham United and clubs in Saudi Arabia.

Newcastle will therefore be scouring the market for replacements for the striker who has scored more Premier League goals for the club than any other player apart from Alan Shearer.

With that in mind, Chronicle Live used Macro Football’s Player Impact tool, which uses analytics to understand a player’s seasonal impact and see which players across European football’s top five leagues most closely resemble Wilson’s characteristics.

Among the players who rank highly in this similarity generator is RB Leipzig goal machine Lois Openda, who recently played for Belgium at EURO 2024.

The 24-year-old, valued at around €60m, is 98% similar to Wilson and scored 28 goals in all competitions for the German side last season, having joined the club last summer from French side Lens.

Another intriguing option to emerge from the similarity generator is former Arsenal forward Folarin Balogun. The US international became a star in French football after scoring 22 goals for Stade Reims during the 2022/23 campaign.

That earned him a summer move to Monaco, where he scored eight goals last season and his potential at 23 is incredibly high.

Lens forward Elye Wahi and Wesley Said also ranked highly in the generator, as did Sevilla forward Isaac Romero. Newcastle are set to return to pre-season training next week, and Wilson will be among the players to return to the club’s Benton training base.