Newcastle's last two away games have shown they may need to tweak things to get the best out of the German forward
Nick Woltemade of Newcastle United
Nick Woltemade of Newcastle United(Image: 2025 MB Media)
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It seems strange to think Newcastle need to find a solution to get the best out of Nick Woltemade.
After all, the Germany international has already scored six goals for Newcastle since his summer arrival for a £69million club record fee from Stuttgart.
But in the last couple of Premier League matches, United have struggled to get him involved in the game. The one time they did get the ball to him in the box against Brentford, his deft flick set up Harvey Barnes for the Magpies' opening goal.
There are a few explanations for this. First of all, he has played in all 14 matches Newcastle have had since his arrival and is one of the few positions in the side Howe has struggled to be able to rotate. That looks like it has started to take its toll in recent weeks.
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Woltemade also tends to drop deep a lot for the ball and when Newcastle have wingers like Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga with the pace to get in behind defences to exploit the spaces, that is an effective trait.
On Sunday, he was coming deep but Jacob Murphy and Harvey Barnes are more deliberate with their actions. Both players want to take a touch and find a cross or a shot, rather than beat a man and look to constantly run in behind. It seemed like a mismatch of styles.
Both West Ham and Brentford seemed all too aware of it and were happy to sit in a low block and protect that space. That, in turn, limited Newcastle's ability to create chances.
Perhaps that is where Yoane Wissa's return from injury will be so crucial. When it is Murphy and Barnes on the wings, Wissa's ability to stretch defences by running in behind will be key to Newcastle's success and he could be the more suitable alternative to Woltemade in that case.
But that still doesn't answer how Newcastle can get the best out of their £69million club record signing.
Looking back to Woltemade's Stuttgart success, and after all that is why Newcastle were convinced to splash the cash on the Germany international forward after his 17-goal haul last season, he thrived playing up front in a pair.
Woltemade either played alongside another forward, as he did with Denis Undav in the DFB Pokal final last season as he scored to help Stuttgart beat Arminia Bielefeld and lift the trophy, or as a 'number 10' behind the former Brighton striker.
Newcastle could adopt a similar system, of course. They went with five at the back against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-finals last season with great success. They could do the same now to get the best out of Woltemade.
By lining up in a 5-3-2 formation, Woltemade could be paired alongside a speedster like Wissa, Gordon or Elanga and that could bring the best out of him in that sense. That would also allow Dan Burn to slot back in as a third centre-half and avoid any debate about his position in the team.
They could also stick to four at the back but use Woltemade as a 'number 10' in a 4-2-3-1 formation. In that sense, Newcastle would lose one of their three midfielders from the line up but it should give them more bodies going forward.
It would also allow Woltemade to keep coming deep for the ball without leaving Newcastle shorthanded up front.
While both are solutions, they both bring up obvious problems, too. In a 4-2-3-1 formation, Newcastle would lose a midfield body, likely Joelinton, and their success last season was built on the strength of that midfield trio. It would also leave six midfielders fighting for two positions, rather than three.
Similarly, Newcastle have four wingers at the club. A switch to 5-3-2 would greatly limit the need for them at the club.
It is clear that United's transfer recruitment has been built around the 4-3-3 formation Howe routinely uses, with two players in the squad competing for each position.
By switching up the formation to accomodate the strengths of one player, it could greatly affect the harmony in the squad by upsetting several others.
It is these big decisions Howe is paid for, though, and just like when he switched Sandro Tonali to the number six role last season and it reignited Newcastle's season, it may require another subtle change in the team to provide the spark to kickstart their campaign this term, too.