Newcastle United striker Chris Wood needs to score soon and prove he has a place in Eddie Howe's team, says journalist Dean Jones.

The 30-year-old joined the Tyneside club from Burnley in a £25m deal in January but is yet to open his account for his new side.

What is Wood's current record at Newcastle?

Heading into the Magpies' clash against Brighton, Wood has failed to score or assist in any of the six appearances he has made so far.

Howe will not be hitting the panic button just yet, though, as across those fixtures, his side have still been able to pick up an impressive 14 points.

Ultimately, despite their frontman not currently scoring goals, Newcastle are still winning games and now have every chance of avoiding the drop come the end of the season.

Wood's former club Burnley, however, look to be in real trouble, sitting in 18th ahead of their tie against European champions Chelsea.

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What has Jones said about Wood?

Amid his struggles at Newcastle right now, Jones has questioned whether Wood fits into Howe's side and would like to see the New Zealand international score soon in order to gain some belief.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the transfer insider said: "For his sake, I really do hope he gets on the scoresheet soon and can find that belief that he can fit into this side because, at the moment, I'm finding it hard to figure out whether he does."

Can Wood turn things around?

Without a doubt. There are still plenty of games left in the season and he is a player who Howe clearly has faith in, with the Newcastle boss recently praising the former Burnley man for his overall contribution to the team.

"He'll want that goal but it's not lost on me the difference he's made to that front line," Howe said last month. "There's been a lot of passes that he's had no right to either get a touch on or just knock a defender which means we're able to spend longer in their half.

"Also his work rate and teamwork. He's covered for Maxi [Allan Saint-Maximin] a couple of times when he's out of position so for a striker to do those unselfish things has made a big difference. I don't think you can underestimate all the aspects of his game that help the team."

Considering that and Callum Wilson's absence, you would expect Howe to persist with Wood, who may just need a bit more time to adapt.