Eddie Howe has some problems to fix at Newcastle United. Ah, but he has solved issues before, smoothing out the creases in his system each year he has been on Tyneside.
Last season, Howe led Newcastle to the Carabao Cup title, their first major domestic honour since 1955. The Magpies have also flown back into the Champions League after finishing fifth in the Premier League.
Important days are ahead. Newcastle currently sit 15th in the Premier League with one win from six attempts. The season, it’s worth underlining, has only just begun, and the Magpies took a time to click into gear during the 2024/25 campaign, mounting a phenomenal run of winter form that carried them through to the finish.
Howe is trusted to bring it all together, with the difficulties of the summer transfer window, defined by Alexander Isak’s deadline-day move to Liverpool for a record-breaking £125m fee, seeping into the season.
However, among the brightest sparks on Tyneside right now is Nick Woltemade, who replaced Isak in August and has kicked off his career in black and white strongly.
Nick Woltemade’s start to life in Newcastle
When Woltemade first touched down in Newcastle, he was stepping into big boots. Isak, after all, is widely regarded as one of the best strikers in Europe, with his 27-goal haul last season a testament to that.
But the German, signed from Stuttgart for a club-record £69m fee, has shown promise across these early weeks. Scoring the winner on his debut against Wolves and again against Arsenal on Sunday.
An intelligent and technically gifted number nine, Woltemade has not the same snappy, electric athleticism as Isak, but he is deft on the ball and adept in link-up phases. He’s a towering presence besides, and a clean finisher of the ball.
With Yoane Wissa sidelined with a knee injury, the 23-year-old has pounced on the opportunity to lay down his claim for the starting spot at the front of the ship, even picking up Newcastle’s Player of the Month for September.
Newcastle’s four-goal tally across six Premier League appearances so far this season puts them right at the bottom of the pile, alongside Aston Villa and Wolves.
At the corresponding stage last year, they had scored eight goals, and the fact that that was a middling return in any case perhaps highlights the task Howe has in the final third.
|
Premier League 25/26 – Lowest xG Totals |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Position |
xG |
|
Leeds |
12th |
5.9 |
|
Wolves |
20th |
5.5 |
|
Newcastle |
15th |
5.2 |
|
Aston Villa |
16th |
4.8 |
|
Burnley |
18th |
4.5 |
|
Data via FBref |
||
Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the probability of a shot resulting in a goal.
Woltemade, regardless, has been a great signing. His ceiling is high. Moreover, Wissa has yet to touch grass in black and white.
Newcastle’s shrewdest summer signing
Central defence was an area in need of shoring up as Newcastle stepped into the summer transfer window, but it wasn’t until August that Howe claimed his quarry, welcoming Malick Thiaw over from Italy.
Thiaw, 24, joined from AC Milan in a deal worth £35m, and while his technical quality and strong defensive skillset have long suggested there is a place for him in the Premier League, an injury record that leaves plenty to be desired came attached as a caveat.
But he’s looking well worth the money, so far. Thiaw, let’s not forget, has long been regarded as a top talent, and over the past year, he ranks among the top 7% of centre-backs across Europe for pass completion and the top 18% for progressive passes played per 90, as per FBref.
A pass is considered progressive if the distance between the starting point and the next touch is at least 10 meters closer to the opponent’s goal or any completed pass into the penalty area.
The last-minute defeat against Arsenal at the weekend stung, all right, but Thiaw’s performance was a positive, with the Chronicle Live awarding the German with an 8/10 match rating post-game.
Thiaw, after all, stood his ground against arguably the best team in the Premier League, with Sofascore recording that he made eight clearances and won five duels across the afternoon.
Alongside Sven Botman, Howe may well feel he has a new central defensive partnership to guide Newcastle through the next chapter, fit to last and with the capacity to challenge for the biggest prizes, against the biggest hitters that the Premier League and Europe can offer.
At a fee of just £35m, this may well prove to be a steal for Newcastle. Thiaw has always been among the most talented centre-halves of his age bracket, merely impeded across the past several years by regular trips to the infirmary.
Still, the early signs are promising in the Premier League. Thiaw has been hailed as a “monster in the air” by journalist Martino Puccio, and with Fabian Schar and Dan Burn and Jamal Lascelles all vying for starting berths of their own, Howe has the means to enforce healthy rotation across the season as Newcastle look to stay competitive across four fronts.
While Woltemade has started on the right track as he looks to smoothly replace Isak, it’s not outrageous to say that he is not, and that plenty of work over a number of years must be completed before the lanky goalscorer reaches the same level of fluency and snap as his predecessor at St. James’ Park.
However, it’s also fair to say that Thiaw boasts more completeness than Newcastle’s defensive crop, Botman notwithstanding, and that, for about half the price of the unpolished striker, he might prove to be the pick of the bunch when assessing Newcastle’s summer transfer window at a later date.
