ESPN pundit Stewart Robson has torn into Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson, claiming that the forward has been letting his side down during their run of inconsistent form.

What's going on with Callum Wilson at Newcastle?

The striker was an unused substitute as Newcastle recorded a crucial victory away at Nottingham Forest on Friday night, and his replacement, Alexander Isak, was the Player of the Match with a match-winning brace.

Wilson has scored just one goal since the World Cup and has now found himself on the bench in recent weeks, with Eddie Howe opting to start his record signing up front.

Speaking on ESPN, Robson has praised Howe's decision to bring Isak in for Wilson, claiming that the ex-Bournemouth striker was letting his side down as Newcastle went through a tough run which saw them fail to win five league games in a row.

He said: "They're back to playing to somewhere near their best, and the manager's made a good decision to get Isak back in the side.

"He was easing him back by playing him in the second half of games. Callum Wilson was having a really poor time at centre-forward, I thought all their build-up play was good and Callum Wilson was letting them down, to a certain degree.

"But they look to be back to where they were maybe a month or so ago before their poor run. They played at pace, they got crosses into the box, Isak led the line really well. It was a good performance from Newcastle and they deserved to win by more than just the odd goal."

Has Eddie Howe dropped Callum Wilson for good?

The England international has been a good servant for Newcastle, scoring 27 times in 70 appearances, but in this current setup, he is now second-choice behind the in-form Isak.

At 31, Wilson may struggle to regain his place should Isak stay fit and Howe continues with the one-striker formation that he has used all season.

Isak's ability on the ball is proving useful, and this has been a big difference between the 23-year-old and Wilson. Isak ranks in the top 10% of strikers in Europe's top competitions over the last year for successful take-ons, blocks and attacking penalty area touches (as per FBref), significantly ahead of Wilson on all three metrics.

If Isak maintains his fitness, we think it is tough to see Wilson surpassing him in Eddie Howe's plans, and given his poor recent form, it remains to be seen whether he will be able to find the level of performance he displayed at the start of the season.