Newcastle United have signed Nick Woltemade and here’s how Eddie Howe could utilise his brand new striker.
The long wait for Newcastle United to finally sign a striker might just have been worth it, as the highly-rated Nick Woltemade has been signed in a record transfer from Stuttgart.
Eddie Howe was forced to watch on in despair as Newcastle missed out on a laundry list of targets throughout the summer, but the club have acted decisively to sign Woltemade ahead of Bayern Munich.
As Woltemade wasn’t signed in time to make his debut against Leeds United, Howe now has a two-week international break to consider how his team will take shape with his exciting new addition.
Here are three ways he could utilise Woltemade.
Nick Woltemade lifts his arms into the air in celebration.
Photo by ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images
Woltemade leads the line in a 4-3-3
The most obvious and likely way Howe will use Woltemade is to just slip him straight into the existing system.
Newcastle never needed wholesale changes this summer, just serious quality in depth to supplement the excellent starting XI throughout a draining Champions League campaign.
Alexander Isak’s refusal to play has necessitated the need for a big-money addition up front, but nothing in the first team is broken, so there’s no need to fix it.
A pacey, physical striker who can lead the line and stretch defences but is also good enough in possession to drop deep and bring others into play, Woltemade is of a similar mould to Isak and should seamlessly slot in up front.
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At 6’6″, two inches taller than the Swede, Woltemade also brings additional aerial prowess to the side and looks to be a shrewd replacement.
A Newcastle United formation graphic in 4-3-3.
Nick Woltemade could replace Alexander Isak in the Newcastle team.
Woltemade could play in a two with another new striker
Despite Newcastle’s spending now topping £200m this summer after signing Woltemade, they aren’t done there.
The club are still working to bring in more players before deadline day on Monday and still want another striker in through the door if they are to allow Isak to join Liverpool.
Yoane Wissa and Jorgen Strand Larsen remain the two top targets at present, but Brentford and Wolves, respectively, are reluctant to sell.
It’s going to take big money to capture one of them and it would be a shame if so much was spent only for them to sit on the bench.
It’s going to be a long season and Woltemade won’t be able to start every game, but there’s nothing saying Howe can’t change his go-to formation and play two up front, if the situation allows.
While a 4-4-2 is unlikely, the manager has utilised back fives in the past and could easily adapt his line-up to include two strikers in such a formation instead of one.
Newcastle United team graphic in 3-4-1-2 formation.
Eddie Howe could play two up front with Nick Woltemade and another striker signing.
Howe could use Woltemade as a playmaker
Given his towering height, it’s difficult to see Woltemade playing in any position other than central striker. He certainly won’t be filling in out wide any time soon.
However, Woltemade has been dubbed the ‘two-metre Messi Musiala’ thanks to his excellent ability on the ball. He is capable of playing as a playmaker.
Of Woltemade’s 178 games in his senior career so far, the majority have come as a centre forward.
However, he has played as a second striker or attacking midfielder 55 times, scoring 18 goals and creating seven from a deeper position.
Newcastle United team graphic in 4-2-3-1 formation.
Nick Woltemade could play as a playmaker for Newcastle United.
It would need a tactical shift from Howe for the position to be open to him at St. James’ Park, but Newcastle have lacked a true creative force in the middle of the pitch for some time and it’ll be nice for the manager to have that option open to him if required.
It could come in especially handy if Newcastle do sign another striker and he hits a rich vein of form, allowing both forwards to start without reverting to a back five.