Calvert-Lewin, Wilson, Bamford: How many goals have absent strikers cost their sides this season?

But Newcastle aren't the only club to have striker struggles this season. In fact, most of the sides in the bottom six have struggled to field a consistent centre-forward for one reason or another.

From Bamford's bizarre injuries, to Burnley's loss of Chris Wood, Planet Sport takes a look at which of the bottom six clubs have missed out on the most goals - and points - due to their absent strikers.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Everton's No. 9 has made just six appearances this season, but scored three goals. And, with the Toffees sitting down in 16th, just two points off the drop zone, they're in desperate need of a clinical goalscorer.

But to the frustration of fans - and Rafael Benitez - the 24-year-old has seen his season plagued by injuries.

Having scored an impressive 16 goals last season, he looked on track to surpass that figure this time around when he opened the campaign with three goals in three games.

That earned Calvert-Lewin an England call-up, but as the September international break rolled around, he pulled out of the squad with a broken toe.

A further quadriceps injury ruled him out for a further couple of months, meaning Calvert-Lewin has been absent for 14 games of Everton's 21 Premier League games.

Points-per-game with Calvert-Lewin: 1.16

Given he started the season at a rate of 0.5 goals per game, Everton potentially missed out on seven goals between August and February.

That would have taken his tally up to 13, placing him second in the league's scoring charts. If Calvert-Lewin was fit, not only would Everton be faring better in the table, Benitez might still be in a job.

Maybe his injury woes hasn't been such bad news for Everton fans, after all.

Rondon and Richarlison not suitable replacements

Replacing a 16-goal-a-season striker is no easy task and Everton have learned that the hard way.

Benitez brought Salomon Rondon to Goodison Park during the summer but wouldn't have expected him to quickly become the club's only available striker.

The Venezuelan has hugely disappointed, though, and has only netted once for the Toffees since his move.

Patrick Bamford

Leeds United's drop off in form has coincided with multiple injuries for Patrick Bamford.

The 28-year-old silenced his critics last season, scoring 17 on Leeds' return to the Premier League.

But in the 2021/22 season, Bamford has made just seven appearances, netting two goals.

He picked up an ankle injury in September that ruled him out for 10 Premier League matches.

On his return to the side, Bamford showed the Elland Road faithful exactly what they'd been missing as he scored a 95th-minute equaliser against Brentford…only to injure himself again seconds later in the celebration.

The resulting hamstring injury ruled him out for another ten games, and Leeds now find themselves 15th in the Premier League with just 27 goals scored in 22 games.

So, how many would Bamford have added to that total? He's managed a record of 0.28 goals per game this season, which would've seen him score five more goals in those 20 missed appearances.

What's more, if he rediscovered his form of last season - 0.44 goals per game - then his 20 missed appearances would have seen him score an additional eight goals this season. 

However, while that suggests Leeds United have missed their No. 9 this season, they've actually averaged more points per game during his absence.

Points-per-game with Bamford: 0.6 

Points-per-game without Bamford: 1.2

James and Rodrigo not up to the task

The pair are both relatively new faces around Elland Road, with James returning last summer for £25million and Rodrigo joining the year prior for a club-record £26million.

However, Leeds' two most expensive signings have come nowhere close to replacing Bamford in terms of output.

James has scored four times this season, two more than Bamford despite making 11 more appearances. Rodrigo has had similar struggles in front of goal, with two in 15 appearances.

Chris Wood

Burnley may have pocketed a neat £25million for Chris Wood in January, but are his goals far more valuable to the Clarets' survival efforts?

Wood has reached 10 goals in all four of his seasons at Burnley, but with only three in 18 appearances in 2021/22, he would have struggled to reach similar heights.

With a record of one goal every six games this season, the Clarets may have only seen their burly striker score a further three for the remainder of the campaign. Gambling on new £12million signing Wout Weghorst was the right call.

Can Weghorst fill the void?

The Dutch striker is more than capable of filling Wood's boots. Standing at 6ft 6in, he'll quickly adapt to Burnley's direct style of play and he managed a remarkable 59 goals in 118 appearances at former club Wolfsburg.

Averaging a goal every two games, if Weghorst even comes close to replicating that at Turf Moor during the final 18 games, the Clarets have every chance of staying up - perhaps even more so than when Wood was leading the line.

Ismaila Sarr

Injuries and international duty have robbed the Hornets of the Senegalese winger for ten of their 22 league games.

Sarr scored his fifth goal of the season on his last appearance - Watford's 4-1 drubbing of Manchester United in November - before limping off with a ligament injury. The three points lifted Claudio Ranieri's side to 16th, four points clear of the drop zone.

Since then, Ranieri has been sacked, Roy Hodgson has been appointed and the Hornets now sit only two points better off in 19th.

Meanwhile, Sarr recovered from his injury and joined up with the Senegal squad, who went on to win the Africa Cup of Nations.

With Sarr now ready to return to the Premier League, and undoubtedly high on confidence, Hodgson will be eager to have him back in his squad. But how many goals have Watford missed out on in his absence?

With five goals in 12 appearances, Sarr had been netting at an impressive rate of 0.41 goals per game. If he was present for Watford's last ten - which included crucial relegation dogfights against Newcastle, Norwich and Burnley, scoring at the same rate would have added four to his tally.

With Watford drawing against both Newcastle and Burnley in recent weeks, who knows how valuable Sarr's lost goals could have been?

If you needed any more convincing about just how crucial Sarr is to Watford this season, take a look at how they've fared without him.

With the Hornets winning 0.86 points more per game when Sarr plays, his ten-game absence has potentially cost his side around eight points.

Points-per-game with Sarr: 1.08

Points-per-game without Sarr: 0.22

Hernandez and Pedro lacking sting

We estimated Sarr would have scored an additional four during his ten absent games. In that time, Hernandez and Pedro have scored just one apiece.

READ MORE: Is Burnley's recent signing Wout Weghorst the tallest player in the Premier League?