If we want to stand a chance of qualifying for Europe again this season, it’s absolutely vital we build on a recent run of away wins and take that form into our upcoming games in the Premier League.
Although Anthony Gordon has been in brilliant form in the Champions League, we need more domestically from him and £125m duo Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa.
Though Howe hasn’t been helped by injuries to Will Osula and Wissa, the biggest issue plaguing the gaffer is just what to do with Woltemade. After the German’s impressive start to the season, his form has stagnated and we’ve seen him drop into a deeper midfield role in three of our last four games.
It’s brought some success, but Alan Shearer isn’t convinced, and feels like more needs to be done to help Woltemade recapture that early season success he had.
Speaking on Premier League production after Saturday night’s defeat at Manchester City, Alan Shearer has explained why Nick Woltemade is turning into a £70m problem for Newcastle United.
Although we have won recent games with the 24-year-old in a deeper role, beating Aston Villa in the FA Cup and hammering Qarabag in the Champions League, Shearer is concerned by his lack of pace and energy, questioning how this fits into a typically all-action Eddie Howe side.
“Clearly, Woltemade is an issue for Newcastle. The money they spent on him, near enough £70million, then deciding to play Gordon as a centre-forward, tells you he’s not quite been what they thought he could be in that position.
“They’re trying to work out what’s best for him. Is he a No.10? Probably not. They try and play him in more of a midfield role… you see he can’t press, because he hasn’t got the legs, he hasn’t got the energy to do what Eddie Howe’s teams have done which have made Newcastle successful over the years.
“You saw that with the second Manchester City goal, when he went to press he was beaten far too easily. He is an issue for Newcastle.
“It was always going to be a difficult situation because of the Alexander Isak situation, because of what he did and what happened. It hasn’t worked well for anyone.”
Considering we’ve won three of our last four games, many could argue that Howe’s decision to play Woltemade deeper has actually worked.
Howe’s insistence on playing Gordon at striker, which has only just started to reap some results seven months into the campaign, as well as rotating Woltemade with Wissa has barely afforded the former Stuttgart ace enough game time at striker to showcase what he can do.
And now he’s been moved deeper into midfield, Woltemade does need the likes of Sandro Tonali, Joe Willock and Jacob Ramsey to put in a bigger shift defensively to allow Woltemade to focus purely on creating opportunities and attacking. Unfortunately, with Bruno and Miley injured, it’s an area of the pitch that’s looking a little stretched right now.
It’s a huge conundrum that Howe and the team need to solve quickly. Though just rumours at this point, the sudden speculation over Woltemade’s future at the club does pose the question: if we were to sell Nick Woltemade, how soon would we regret it knowing just how much talent he has and what he can offer to a team outside of Howe’s system?
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