Eddie Howe may well have toasted three permanent signings already this summer at Newcastle United.
But the sight of both Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser training together last week for the start of pre-season at Benton may well have given him just as much satisfaction as he starts to plot his first full season as Newcastle boss. The duo's telepathy at AFC Bournemouth was impressive under Howe as the Cherries impressed in the Premier League.
Indeed, in 2019 the pair made Premier League history as they combined 12 times for goals and even beat a record set by Alan Shearer and Mike Newell during the Geordie legend's stint at Blackburn in the 1995/96 season (11 goal combinations). Back then Fraser set up Wilson a remarkable seven times while the striker set the Scot up on five occasions.
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The record for such combinations in the top-flight is now just two more and held by Harry Kane and Son Heung-min (14) to underline the type of quality Howe has managed to get from Fraser and Wilson in the past. Last season Wilson and Fraser barely featured together apart from a handful of matches at the start of Howe's tenure.
Wilson suffered a niggling calf injury in December and missed Fraser's excellent run of form. And when Wilson returned at the end of the season, Fraser was sidelined with a hamstring issue.
But Fraser has now fully recovered and Wilson is also raring to go. Speaking about Fraser a couple of years ago Wilson said: "He is good on his left foot, gets the ball into the right area and as a striker you make sure you are in the right area."
Fraser's view on Wilson is understandably similar and he said in 2021: "We used to just train on it every day under the manager at Bournemouth. We used to just go through things every day – 'if I’m in this position, I need you there’' or, 'if he’s in that position, he wants it there'.
"Over the last maybe five years of playing with each other, every season we’d set each other up. It was just kind of like that, (like) a robot, a natural instinct, where if I put it in an area, he knew I was going to put it in there and likewise. There was a lot of work put into it on the training pitch with the manager there, and that's why it was so good."
Notably, Fraser, Wilson and Matt Ritchie have been training together throughout the summer before pre-season even started in private sessions on the South Coast. When Fraser and Wilson were signed - even during the bleak Mike Ashley era - their arrivals were celebrated by fans on Tyneside.
Yet a combination of injuries and deeply rooted problems that they encountered at Newcastle after signing means a proven relationship hasn't been able to fire on all cylinders. United have been linked with a host of attacking players this summer, but Howe knows that he has a winning combination at his disposal.
Howe spoke glowingly about the pair shortly after his arrival in 2021 when he said: "They had a great relationship in terms of the numbers they delivered. "They're two great players individually but I think like any team you're dependant on the partnerships in the team and playing in unison. We'll try and create that here."
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