Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has said Callum Wilson is one of his favourite players from his managerial career, ahead of a reunion with the forward this weekend.
Wilson will face former club Newcastle for the first time since leaving St James’ Park in the summer, when West Ham host the Magpies on Sunday.
The 33-year-old scored 49 goals in 130 games for Newcastle, though his origins with Howe start prior to his £20m move to the North East in 2020.
Howe signed Wilson from Coventry City for Bournemouth in 2014, with the striker firing the Cherries to Premier League promotion in his debut campaign.
The Newcastle manager is looking forward to reuniting with Wilson at the London Stadium. Asked ahead of the game if the veteran was one of his favourite players to work with, Howe said: “Yes, without a doubt.
“I can say that now because of having seen the rise of Callum. Having signed him, obviously back then he wasn’t the player he turned out to be and he had to go through a period of redevelopment. But he did that straight away and was one of the rare players I signed who went straight in.
“He scored on his debut – two goals – and never looked back. And then there was seeing how he adapted to the various challenges that thrown at him.
“He had unwavering self-confidence, but it was never arrogance. He had it perfectly in the right place, and then he never changed with success, which is one of the key fundamentals.
“He is still the same person today as he was at the beginning of his career, so for all those reasons and seeing how hard he has worked at his game, he is absolutely right up there.”
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