Chris Wood's former team-mate says Burnley are in 'massive trouble' following striker's switch to Newcastle United!

The ex-England international goalkeeper, in the same breath, added that Burnley will be in "massive trouble" without his goals.

The former Liverpool and Manchester City stopper, an FA Cup winner with Portsmouth, believes Eddie Howe's latest acquisition will help drag the Magpies out of the mire, while keeping the Clarets well and truly in it.

James, who earned 53 caps for his country, played half-a-season with the New Zealander at Bristol City during the 2011-12 campaign, which culminated against Howe's Burnley at Turf Moor.

"I think it's a wonderul bit of business," he said. "I was with Chris Wood at Bristol City for a short period of time. He's a lovely bloke. That's key for Eddie Howe, he's got a decent person to come in, not just a decent footballer.

"He was playing 30-plus games a season so he's going to be fit and available according to his recent history. Eddie can rely on him in many different ways.

"Interestingly, Chris Wood scores a lot of goals with his head, he's scored a lot of goals inside the box, but most of his shots come from outside the box and that's something that Eddie will have to work on, and can work on, with the quality around him with the likes of [Allan] Saint-Maximin."

Wood, who made 13 appearances in the same side as James with the Robins, netted 49 Premier League goals for Sean Dyche's side in 144 appearances, after a club record £15m move from Leeds in the summer of 2017.

The Kiwi ended the 2019-20 season with 14 goals, his best return for the club, but parted company with just three goals in 21 games in all competitions this term.

James, however, feels the Clarets need to move quickly to replace the former Leeds United frontman if they're to stand any chance of securing a seventh successive season in the Premier League.

Asked how much trouble Burnley could find themselves in, when speaking to Rob Wotton in the Sky Sports studio, he said: "Massive trouble. Burnley will be the team fighting to get out of relegation.

"Burnley's situation has not been good all season, they're at the bottom of the table, though they do have a couple of games in hand, but they're in a really bad position. Losing Chris Wood, they're going to have to dip into the market sharpish to replace him."