Newcastle United bet big with the capture of Callum Wilson by making the former AFC Bournemouth striker the Toon’s top-earner, according to Football Insider.
Wilson has been confirmed as a Magpies player, having arrived on Tyneside to complete his medical on Sunday after travelling to the North East via Mike Ashley’s private helicopter, ahead of completing what is believed to be a £20million move for the 28-year-old after six years on the south coast.
Aston Villa were keen to edge the Magpies to signing Wilson having also seen an offer accepted, but withdrew their £21m bid when it became clear that the England international favoured joining Steve Bruce’s squad ahead of the new Premier League season.
Wilson has now become United’s third-most expensive transfer in history, only trailing the club-record £40m deal struck for Joelinton last summer and the £21m paid to MLS franchise Atlanta United for Miguel Almiron.
But not only will Wilson go down as one of our most lucrative acquisitions of all time, but Football Insider understand he has also become our highest-earner on a four-year deal worth around £100,000-per-week.
Is Wilson worth £20m and a £100k-p/w contract?
Yes
No
Joelinton is currently thought to be the club’s highest-earner, having been awarded a contract worth in excess of the £80,000-per-week terms belonging to Jonjo Shelvey when signed in his club-record transfer from TSG Hoffenheim a year ago.
The precise sum of Joelinton’s contract is unconfirmed, though speculation suggests the Brazilian is paid around £82,000-p/w on a €4.5m (£4.1m) a season, six-year deal.
Our wage structure will look vastly different now that Wilson has put pen to paper on the alleged £100k-p/w deal, with Yoshinori Muto’s £54k-p/w terms, Matt Ritchie’s £45k-p/w deal and Federico Fernandez’s £43k-p/w contract vastly overshadowed.
Wilson will provide proven Premier League expertise to our attack, however, with the 5 ft 10 star boasting 41 goals and 16 assists from 126 appearances in the top-flight with Bournemouth.
That is something we do not currently have, with Joelinton’s record showing just two Premier League goals, Andy Carroll with three in the past three seasons and Dwight Gayle – who scored four times last term – potentially being sidelined for the next 12 weeks after knee surgery.