Nick Woltemade continues to divide opinion among Newcastle United fans when, really, he shouldn’t – at least right now.
While there can be questions as to whether Woltemade really is right for the Premier League and a team looking to impress in it going forward, they do not need to be answered yet. This season is for getting through and taking serious stock about what is happening to Newcastle United this summer.
Convince me otherwise: Eddie Howe gave me my greatest day as a Newcastle fan but he has taken us as far as he can
DISCLAIMER: It's not all his fault, chaos behind the scenes and PSR does not help 😡
He’ll always be a hero but everything comes to an end
On Saturday against Everton, the German put in another ineffective performance in both midfield and up front.
That has led to further criticism but, frankly, the German isn’t currently on the long list of problems at the club right now.
Newcastle United’s list of many problems
New signings haven’t worked
PSR rules stop wide-scale squad rebuild
Lack of progress on new stadium and new training ground
Relentless fixture schedule
The club have just spent around £250million during the summer transfer window and somehow got worse. They obviously weren’t helped by the Alexander Isak saga, but the signings of Yoane Wissa and Anthony Elanga look like major mistakes.
The jury is still out on Jacob Ramsey, as it is with Woltemade. At least they, however, are actually showing something on an albeit infrequent basis. The same cannot be said about the rest of the summer signings, aside from the excellent Malick Thiaw.
Woltemade has arrived at a malfunctioning Newcastle amid a barrage of criticism about his price tag from his native Germany and still scored ten goals in 42 games.
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That’s not a bad return, and while he’s not exempt from criticism, it’s important that context is applied. He is a symptom of the issues, not a cause.
Taking this season in isolation, Woltemade has broadly done a good job for Newcastle given he’s had very limited training time due to the relentless fixture schedule. Perhaps it would make sense to sell if a team did come calling, but that doesn’t mean he’s been a dreadful signing.
He’s certainly shown enough to suggest that he’s got the talent, it just might not be suited to the Premier League.
Most of the other signings made during the summer of 2025 have not worked out, and such poor windows can take years to overcome in a PSR world. One bad transfer window can be ruinous as the spending limitations do not generally lend themselves to the wide-scale rebuild clearly needed on Tyneside.
Which player do you regret selling more – Elliot Anderson or Yankuba Minteh?
Thanks, PSR 😡
Split image showing Elliot Anderson playing for Nottingham Forest and Yankuba Minteh playing for Brighton
Credit: Robin Jones/Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
And why did Isak want to leave, after all? Well, money and the chance to play for one of the world’s biggest teams can’t be discounted of course, but Newcastle’s ambition under PIF has come under question from players.
Indeed, Eddie Howe has admitted that Newcastle are in limbo until the owners make a decision on the new stadium and a new training ground.
That flaky attitude behind the scenes is playing out on the pitch. Sometimes, Newcastle can be brilliant and the sky appears to be the limit.
On other occasions, it seems as if people are going through the motions and waiting for something better to come along.
Nick Woltemade of Newcastle United during their Premier League match with Manchester United.
Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Woltemade is caught in the middle of it all, to the point where he’s becoming something of a culture war. There is no need to either be for or against him in the long-term, as if he’s the player upon which all the club’s hopes and dreams rest.
His contributions during a difficult season deserve credit, without having to herald him as the second coming of Alan Shearer.
There are so many other reasons to be worried about Newcastle right now.
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