In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Howey, who made 193 Premier League appearances during his career, struggles to see why Freddie Woodman would return to Newcastle United to sit on the bench.
Woodman has been at Newcastle since 2013 but has only made four FA Cup appearances for the Magpies. His loan spells at Swansea City have proved to be a lot more fruitful, racking up 80 appearances and 30 clean sheets.
Does Woodman have a future at Newcastle?
Yes, he’s the future!
No, he needs a fresh start!
The 24-year old has been hailed as a future Newcastle number one but with a route into the first team seemingly blocked with Martin Dubravka and Karl Darlow both signing new contracts recently, Woodman may seek a fresh challenge.
Speaking on Woodman’s uncertain future at Newcastle and how he may be forced to search for pastures new, Howey exclusively told FFC:
“Woodman’s playing really well at Swansea. Why would you want to come back and sit on the bench when you can play week in week out?”
“All the players that I’ve played with, nobody likes training all week and not playing on game day.
“As I said, there’s an awful lot of players that to have to do that. Ultimately, it’s up to you. Are you happy with that? Or do you want to play?”
Woodman looks to have made a real breakthrough in his career at Swansea becoming their number one, and is showcasing the talent which saw him keep four clean sheets in seven matches as England won the Under 20s World Cup in 2017.
Swansea manager, Steve Cooper, has a great relationship with Woodman which could end up being a pull factor if the Swans secure promotion to the Premier League, and look to make the Croydon-born goalkeeper’s loan spell permanent.