Amanda Staveley savaged for Newcastle deal collapsing, this is the person to fix it
Ross Wilson has been told what he must do to avoid another Alexander Isak situation at Newcastle United.
Wilson made the move to St James’ Park from Nottingham Forest, ending a two year spell on Trentside.
The 41-year-old comes in as a replacement for Paul Mitchell, who stepped down from his role as sporting director in May.
Newcastle have nine points from eight games in the Premier League so far this season.
Ross Wilson must handle contract situations
Alexander Isak moved to Liverpool over the summer, refusing to play for Newcastle before the transfer as he believed he had an agreement with club chiefs which allowed him to leave.
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – thinks that Wilson has to come in and handle issues around contract situations with the Magpies’ current players.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that the Isak saga cannot happen again, as it was very damaging for Newcastle.
Wyness added that Wilson is the right person to sort everything out at St James’ Park.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Now, he’s going to have to handle some of the bigger issues around the contract situation that we saw come up with Isak.
“That was really their own making in the way that was handled. In the end, it came down to the ego of the sporting director coming in at the time, Paul Mitchell. I think that’s where that issue lies, along with Amanda Staveley making statements.
“So he’s going to have to keep a very even hand on things to make sure that that sort of thing doesn’t ever happen again, because that was very damaging to Newcastle, despite them getting the money in the end.
“It wasn’t good, we all know that, and it created a lot of disruption within the club. But I think he’s the right sort of person, the right sort of personality to do that, to see things ahead.
“He’s a good technical guy. He’s got a lot of experience now. If you look at what Forest brought in over the last few years under Marinakis, he’s handled a lot of good deals, and he’s done a lot of things. So look, I think he’s got some good experience. I think he’ll fit in well.”
Ross Wilson must form relationship with new hire
Last month (4 September), Newcastle confirmed that David Hopkinson would be replacing Darren Eales as the club’s new CEO.
Eales announced he was stepping down last year due to medical reasons, but it took the club almost 12 months to bring in a replacement.
Wyness revealed that it is very important that Wilson gets along with Hopkinson, as they need to work well together to allow Newcastle to succeed.
He said: “I hope he gets on with David Hopkinson. It seems that they’re both cut from the same sort of cloth in terms of wanting to get on with things rather than being outspoken. So that’s good.
“I think they’re getting a good team together. I’d like to see Newcastle succeed, and I think they’re starting to get a stable team together. So overall, I think it’s a positive.”
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