Graham Potter knows that there are potential downsides to the signing of former Newcastle and England striker Callum Wilson at West Ham United.
Wilson missed 114 Newcastle matches through injury during five years at St James’ Park. He started only twice in the Premier League last season, too.
And, at the age of 33, West Ham United are hardly getting the veteran frontman at his sharpest.
Yet, as the Hammers agree a heavily incentivised contract based around the number of appearances Callum Wilson makes in a claret and blue jersey, Graham Potter feels that the potential upsides far outweigh the potential negatives.
Speaking to the official West Ham website, Potter is confident that the presence of a highly-experienced, Premier League-proven number nine will also benefit the likes of Niclas Fullkrug, Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta, while also giving young Callum Marshall an experienced campaigner to learn from.
Graham Potter thinks Jarrod Bowen will benefit from Callum Wilson at West Ham United
Wilson joins the London Stadium outfit on a one-year contract.
He has 88 goals in 239 Premier League appearances, with 18 of those coming as recently as the 2022/23 season.
“Callum is a proven, experienced Premier League striker, and we’re pleased to have brought him in,” Potter says. “He’s had some issues in terms of injuries and availability, but we think we can help him with that.
“It’s an opportunity to bring someone in who’s got the know-how, who is a good character, and who has a fantastic attitude.
“I think he’ll fit in well with the team and be good with the young players. He’s a different profile to someone like Niclas [Fullkrug], but I think they will complement each other really well, as he will with the likes of Jarrod [Bowen], Lucas [Paqueta] and Cal [Marshall].
“The season’s long, so it’s good to have different options. I’m confident we can get Callum firing and that we’ll then have a really good striker on our hands.”
While Niclas Fullkrug likes to drop deep and link the play – as he did so impressively in those pre-season wins over Everton and Bournemouth – a fully-fit Callum Wilson adds a natural-born penalty-box poacher to Potter’s ranks.
If the Hammers need a goal, Wilson could prove to be an invaluable option from the substitutes’ bench.
Wilson shares West Ham goal pledge as Callum Marshall shines in pre-season
Alongside Fullkrug, the aforementioned Callum Marshall has impressed in West Ham colours this summer too. Returning from a fine loan spell at Huddersfield Town, Marshall scored a brilliant solo goal against Swiss outfit Grasshopper Zurich before leading the line with pace and intensity during that 2-1 comeback win over Everton in Chicago.
It remains to be seen, though, if West Ham plan to loan Marshall out again. Wilson’s arrival likely pushes the 20-year-old further down the pecking order.
“I think when I first joined the Premier League many years ago [in 2015] I scored my first Premier League goal against West Ham which resulted in a hat-trick!,” says Wilson, the former Bournemouth talisman who netted 12 goals in 16 top-flight matches against his new employers.
“Ultimately, you get confidence from that every time you step out on the field against a team of such stature. The fans are so passionate; singing, chanting, the bubbles are flowing. And as an opposition player when you come into that environment, it actually gets you going a little bit as well, so I guess that was kind of what happened.
“I had a friend here, Michail [Antonio], who also would tell me; ‘If I score against you I have to do celebrations’ so it brought an extra five or ten per cent each time I played. But now I’m here to score for West Ham.
“And, like I say, the goals that I scored against them I’ll repay that by scoring for them.”
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