This season has been the definition of 'a tale of two halves' for Newcastle United forward Callum Wilson. His pre-World Cup form was some of the best fans have seen from him in a Magpies shirt but what's happened since?
Just two goal involvements in his past 796 minutes of football in all competitions pale in comparison to his numbers before donning the England shirt for the first time in three years.
Considering the first nine weeks of the season saw him net six goals and find two assists before finding another in the Three Lions' 6-2 group stage win over Iran in Qatar, it seems as though Wilson has taken a step backwards when everyone at St. James' Park needs him to be taking two forward.
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It's not like he's not getting enough touches of the ball either. The 1-0 win over Fulham in January was the most involved Wilson has been in any game this season, taking 31 touches and having seven shots on goal (three on target).
While one of his two goal involvements post-Christmas came in that game, it still highlights his struggles in front of goal given the fact he couldn't find the back of the net himself.
Part of it is simply him not getting enough shots away though - Wilson has had more than two shots on goal in just two of the seven matches he's played post-World Cup, scoring less than 0.2xG in five of them.
When you compare that to his time from August to October, he scored more than 0.4xG six times and averaged 3.5 shots per game - quite a bit beyond what the numbers he's currently pulling.
Newcastle fans have been calling for club-record signing Alexander Isak to be given a start ahead of the England international but manager Eddie Howe seems adamant to allow Wilson to dig himself out of this hole he's found himself in.
But is that going to work? Is that worth sacrificing the Champions League spot they've worked so hard this season for? Because the cracks are starting to show. Newcastle simply aren't scoring enough goals - just three in the league since the start of the year and after a trio of 2-0 losses in all competitions over the past two weeks, many believe it's about time that the Swede is given the reins for a game or two at least.
But if Howe is unwavering in his opinion that Wilson should be starting, then he must start scoring soon. Otherwise the Magpies season as a whole could end up facing the consequences.
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