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Former Liverpool and Sunderland stars have discussed Newcastle United's attacking options ahead of Sunday's home game with Crystal Palace.
There were high hopes for the current season as the Magpies looked to build on the momentum gained by their historic Carabao Cup final win against Liverpool and securing qualification for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons. However, a transfer saga revolving around the future of star striker Alexander Isak cast a shadow over the entire summer and continued in the early weeks of the season as the Sweden international agitated for a move to Premier League champions Liverpool.
A British record transfer of around £125m was eventually finalised in the final days of the window and Newcastle looked to replace their top goalscorer with the additions of Brentford striker Yoane Wissa and Germany international Nick Woltemade. Any thoughts of allowing the latter to settle into life in the Premier League were quickly cast aside after Wissa suffered an injury that has hampered the early months of his time on Tyneside and that has forced Woltemade into baring the brunt of United’s attacking threat.
Plan B
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe applauds the fans after the Premier League match between Burnley and Newcastle United at Turf Moor on December 30, 2025 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)placeholder image
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe applauds the fans after the Premier League match between Burnley and Newcastle United at Turf Moor on December 30, 2025 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Wissa has now returned to fitness and has been handed starts by Eddie Howe in Newcastle’s last two Premier League fixtures - but there has been some talk of when the United boss may opt to field both forward players as part of a new look attacking setup with some suggestions the Magpies are lacking a ‘plan B’ being widely discussed.
Howe responded to questions over the matter in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s game with Crystal Palace as he said: “If you have too many Plan Bs it means your Plan A is flawed and your players are thinking what’s next rather than trying to deliver Plan A to the best of their ability. We have lots of ways of playing, but within the structure and the principles of what we believe in. I see countless managers asked about Plan Bs, but you have to be careful. We have a very strong plan for every situation, we just need to deliver it better.”
The same topic was brought up during Sky Sports’ coverage of the game against the Eagles as former Sunderland man Darren Bent and Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher both unsure of what could lie ahead for Newcastle’s summer signings.
What was said about Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa?
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On Wissa, former England striker Darren Bent said: “You have to get big opportunities for him running in behind, I think that’s his biggest strength. Last season, at Brentford, he was outstanding, 20 goals, that’s what has got him this move to Newcastle and an instant impact, a goal straightaway on his debut. I think they’ll have to be a little bit cuter in terms of the way they play into him because he’s not like Woltemade, who is a big targetman and can get hold of it. With Wissa, the service into him will have to be more precise, little slides down the side of the centre halves, with him running in behind - but certainly give him an opportunity and he will take them because he’s an unbelievable finisher.
Carragher replied: “It’s not working just fine because a lot of their recruitment during the summer, including Wissa who was injured, Elanga, it hasn’t quite worked, so they are relying on the same players who have done so brilliantly for them over the last two or three years. I think the one thing you look at when you look at the makeup of the squad, they don’t have a genuine number ten because they play a 4-3-3 and the three in midfield have been fantastic for them.
“When you talk of Woltemade, and this is a problem for every manager, how do you get two strikers on the pitch? Woltemade, he almost looks like a number ten, so I think when you talk about the plan B, and listen, I’m with Eddie Howe on his answer to the questions on the back of the Burnley game, but could there be a time when you play Woltemade in a number ten position and Wissa right at the top end of the pitch. I think they’d actually compliment each other really well and it’s not like the Liverpool situation where you’d look at Isak and Ekitike and think they are both strikers that like to play on the last man. Going forward, if it’s not quite working for them with the midfield three and they’re struggling to break down the opposition, could you get the two of those attacking players on the pitch?”
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