Do Newcastle United have enough Premier League goals without Callum Wilson? Steve Bruce’s analysis & stats behind it

One shot on target.

That's all Newcastle United managed to muster in 99 minutes (including added on time) against Aston Villa.

Not a statistic that will breed any confidence heading into what, even at this early stage, feels like a crucial week at St James' Park.

Burnley are first up in the League Cup, both sides have lost their opening two Premier League encounters.

And while in the grand scheme of things cup progression means little, another loss would heap further pressure on the visit of Southampton to Tyneside on Saturday.

One question being asked by many, particularly with any possible if less than probable transfer window activity being targeted at the back end of the pitch, is: do Newcastle United have enough Premier League firepower without Callum Wilson?

NewcastleWorld asked Steve Bruce the question, and here's what he said - featuring a dive into the statistics behind his theory and the opposing view.

Do Newcastle United have enough Premier League firepower, if Callum Wilson is absent?

Steve Bruce said: “It is the difficulty we all face. Wolves faced it with (Raul) Jimenez. How important he is to them, they miss his goals.

“We are not going to have a Saint-Maximin or a Callum Wilson in reserve.

“I am convinced we have enough goals in our team having watched us. Certainly at the back end of last year. We want to replicate that but also improve defensively.

“We have got to try and attack, looking at the team we have got we have two wing-backs who are attack-minded, we have two in the middle of the park who want to score a goal in Almiron and Joe Willock and two up top.

“I am convinced there are goals in the team. But we have to try and improve defensively and not leave the gaping gaps, big holes we did last week.”

Where are the goals in the side, which Bruce refers to?

It sounds like, reading between the lines, Bruce believes there is goals elsewhere in the team, rather than necessarily on his bench.

The above comment, while positive, is hardly a ringing endorsement of those waiting in the wings to replace the striker, Dwight Gayle and Joelinton.

And I suppose, Bruce is right to an extent.

Joe Willock, the club's one and only summer signing, netted eight goals in his final 14 games of the 2020/21 Premier League season - an incredible return for the then 21-year-old.

Looking beyond that, Jacob Murphy's three goals from mostly right wing-back is also decent. He has, of course, already found the net this season, too.

Things do start to drop a little after that. Despite being one of the designated strikers in this system, Allan Saint-Maximin has scored just three goals last season, and four the year previous. It is, however, his assists and all round play that is of benefit to the team more than his goals.

Outside of that, Miguel Almiron got five in 39 last season, even though he played chunks of the season out of position. Jonjo Shelvey got two last season, although six the one before and Sean Longstaff has just two in total for United in the league.

Matt Ritchie, a source of a decent (ish) return during his time on Tyneside, failed to net at all last season. Nor did Ryan Fraser, who did score 20 league goals for Bournemouth in 120 starts in a previous life.

How do understudies Joelinton and Dwight Gayle stack up?

Dwight Gayle scored just one goal in 20 appearances for United last season. In 2019/20 it was four goals in 22 outings.

Joelinton was marginally better over the two seasons in terms of goals with the Brazilian netting six goals in 36 in all competitions last campaign, with another four in 44 coming the year before that.

The most goals Gayle has netted in a Premier League season was seven - that was for Crystal Palace in 2013/14. His United best remains the 2017/18 season (6).