Eddie Howe has warned Newcastle's owners it would cost them a fortune to replace Callum Wilson if they decided to cash in on him this summer.

The 32-year-old England striker, who could return from a 10-game injury lay-off at Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening, is under contract at St James' Park until the end of next season, but with the club facing difficult decisions to meet profit and sustainability regulations has been linked with a move away.

Wilson, a £20million signing from Bournemouth during summer 2020, has managed 22 appearances this term, and the head coach's admiration for a player he took to the Vitality Stadium in the first place remains undimmed.

"It's undoubted how I feel about Callum, how I feel about his qualities and what he can offer the team," Howe said. "If you lose a player of that quality, to then find a player of equal standard will cost the club a lot of money.

"That's always the big talking point about any business we do in the summer. If you lose a player, how can you replace him with the same quality with Financial Fair Play implications around the corner?"

Wilson, Newcastle's leading goalscorer for the last three seasons, has found himself in direct competition with £63m record signing Alexander Isak this season, and it is the Sweden international who has set tongues wagging with his 21 goals to date, culminating in a fine double in the 4-0 demolition of Tottenham last time out.

Isak, like midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, is reportedly being eyed by potential suitors, but Howe has repeatedly insisted the club do not want to sell their best players, and that may mean they have to look elsewhere within the squad to balance the books.

In the meantime, the Magpies boss is happy to have Wilson, who has recovered from pectoral muscle surgery, and Isak battling each other once again.

Howe said: "I know there's a lot of respect between the two players and I know Callum would have been pleased with how Alex has performed for the team and helped the team when he's not been available. But Callum will back himself, I've got no doubt about that."

Wilson's impending return comes as midfielders Joe Willock and Lewis Miley have had to admit defeat in their efforts to play again this season.

Willock, 24, has been struggling with an Achilles problem, while 17-year-old Miley has a lower-back issue. Howe said: "With Joe, he went to see a specialist, and they said, 'Look, you've got a couple of options here'."

"He could have carried on playing, but I think the longer-term view was taken, 'Let's get him right for next season', so that's what everyone is working towards."

On Miley, he added: "He's done brilliantly this season, but I think with the back problem that he has, rest is probably the right way for us to go and even if there was a chance and there possibly was if we pushed him to come back we took that away very early, with his age and thinking about his long-term prospects."

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