Preston fans react to Freddie Woodman signing and speculate on Newcastle transfer fee – Interesting | OneFootball

Preston fans welcomed Freddie Woodman to their club on Tuesday.

Official announcements from Newcastle United and Preston North End (see below) revealing the deal had been completed.

The 25 year old goalkeeper needing first team football to get his career back on track.

With Nick Pope set to arrive from Burnley and compete with Martin Dubravka, the goalkeeping situation getting ever more competitive at St James Park, with the likes of Freddie Woodman and Karl Darlow needing to find new clubs.

Interesting to see the reaction of Preston fans (see below) to the signing, particularly what they have had to say about the likely transfer fee…

Preston fans react to Freddie Woodman signing via PNE FC .net:

‘As good a keeper as we could hope for on a permanent ..good news.’

‘Really great business. Three year deal for a keeper of his quality and age is great to see. Definitely a step up in our usual transfer business.’

‘Well done to all involved in getting this deal done.’

‘Seen a poster on Newcastle board asking how much we’ve paid, hoping for 3 mill!’

‘Guy obviously has no idea, doubt we paid more than 500k ??’

‘One NUFC Twitter commented they should have been looking at 10 million!!!’

‘Think we would have mentioned if it was over 7 figures tbh. It’s peanuts to the new owners there either way, so might have gotten away with some of the ol ‘promotion clause’ type stuff.’

‘I imagine it would have been relatively small fee given he was in his final year, but likely with a significant sell on fee.’

‘What a signing. Serious quality and great ambition from the club. Well done North End.’

’88 Championship appearances 32 clean sheets.’

‘What are his favourite crisps?’

‘A canny bag of Tudor.’

‘Club is going places that’s why he has come had offers else where as well from different teams.’

‘Seriously impressive signing. The type you expect to see the big hitters in the league making. Every credit to the club.’

‘Make no mistake about it this is a serious coup. 25 years old with his best years ahead of him. Golden glove winner in his last Championship campaign. 3 year deal too, superb stuff.’

‘Big shoes to fill after Daniel – but after watching him on you tube looks the absolute business – well done PNE’

‘Stunning signing , our best permanent for a good few years , real statement of intention and this lad is the real deal – chuffed to bits with this signing , genuinely don’t think he comes unless he’s bought into a plan – and I actually believe we’ve got one.’

My assumption on the transfer fee is that the guaranteed fee is almost certainly far lower than what many Newcastle fans would automatically assume BUT with a very large sell on clause. This was the case when Newcastle United sold both Adam Armstrong and Ivan Toney, with reported 40% sell on clauses activated when the pair later moved on to Southampton and Brentford respectively.

Also, whilst Preston finished 13th last season, 24 points off automatic promotion and 11 points off the play-offs. Fair to also assume that there is also a clause in the deal that would give NUFC a further chunk of cash if Preston managed to get promoted with Freddie Woodman’s help.

Good luck anyway to Freddie Woodman at his new club.

Preston North End official announcement – 22 June 2022:

Preston North End are delighted to confirm goalkeeper Freddie Woodman has joined the club from Newcastle United for an undisclosed fee.

The 25-year-old has put pen to paper on a three-year deal, meaning he will stay at Deepdale until at least 2025.

Former England U21 international Woodman has experience playing for the Magpies in the Premier League, while he’s also enjoyed two full seasons in the Championship with Swansea City.

Speaking after joining PNE, Freddie said: “I’m absolutely delighted. It’s been a while trying to get this over the line, but I’m delighted to be here and I feel very honoured to be joining such a fantastic football club and a football club that’s going in the right direction.

“Obviously I knew Marshy [Mike Marsh] coming here. He played a big part in me picking Preston over other clubs that I had offers from.

“But also myself, I’ve played against Preston and I’ve never had an easy day at Deepdale, and I want to come here and give these fans something that they deserve.”

The goalkeeper started the opening four fixtures of the 2021/22 Premier League campaign for Newcastle United, and went on to spend the second half of the season with AFC Bournemouth who gained promotion.

Previous to that, the former Crystal Palace man spent two years on loan with Swansea City, working under PNE first team coach Mike Marsh and playing a key part in the Swans reaching the Play-Off final during the 2020/21 campaign.

Woodman is also well decorated at international youth level, having won both the U17 European Championship and the U20 World Cup.

Manager Ryan Lowe added: “We were aware Freddie wanted a new challenge and I’m really pleased we’ve got it done.

“We’ve beaten off some competition for Freddie as he’s seen what we’re trying to build here at Preston North End.

“His attributes are playing out from the back and his goal saving of course, so he’ll be a top player for us and we’re really excited to start working with him.

“Marshy’s [Mike Marsh] worked with him before with England and with Swansea for two seasons, so when he’s telling you to sign him it becomes a no brainer.”