Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has done a wonderful job since taking over from Steve Bruce during the 2021/22 Premier League campaign.

The Magpies boss led the team to safety in his first season at the club and currently has them competing for a place in a European competition for 2023/24 - sitting sixth in the table.

His excellent coaching work has been supplemented by his superb transfer business, alongside PIF and Dan Ashworth, over the last 13 months or so.

Howe has brought in the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Sven Botman, Kieran Trippier, and Nick Pope to bolster the squad but has not had a 100% success rate.

One signing who flopped at St. James' Park was New Zealand international Chris Wood. The forward arrived in a £25m deal from Burnley in January 2022 and failed to make a significant impact in the team.

Newcastle now risk repeating their disasterclass with the attacker as they are reportedly pursuing a swoop to sign Renan Lodi from Atletico Madrid, who is on loan at Nottingham Forest with a £25m option to buy.

How did Chris Wood perform at Newcastle?

The Magpies must learn from their mistake with Wood, who struggled badly in the Premier League for the club, by avoiding a move for the Brazilian left-back.

Two of the centre-forward's four goals came from the penalty spot and these statistics show that the forward offered very little to the team in possession, with his goal return, his non-existent assists, and woeful passing leading to him being sent out on loan to Nottingham Forest, which has since become a permanent switch.

The warning signs were there for Newcastle as the striker had managed three goals and zero assists, whilst completing 58.6% of his attempted passes, in 17 appearances during the first half of 2021/22 for Burnley.

He must keep his error with Wood fresh in the memory when considering whether or not to go through with a deal for Lodi as the 24-year-old has been less than impressive in the Premier League this season.

The Brazilian defender, who journalist Conor Keane said had a "nightmare" earlier this term, has averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.65 across 17 appearances in the division. He has made 0.5 key passes per game and won 58% of his duels, whilst completing 76% of his attempted passes.

Meanwhile, current Toon left-back Dan Burn has averaged a score of 6.84 and created 0.4 chances per match whilst winning 54% of his battles and completing 79% of his passes.

These statistics do not suggest that Lodi would be an upgrade on Howe's first-choice left-back and would, if anything, be a downgrade on the Englishman based on their respective performance levels.

Therefore, Newcastle would be running the risk of repeating their Wood blunder by swooping for the Atletico Madrid full-back as the dud has not done enough in the English top-flight this season to suggest that he would be a good addition to the squad, particularly for £25m.