Eddie Howe’s biggest problem at Newcastle United right now is scoring goals.
The Magpies have found the net just four times in the Premier League so far, picking up one win. That was against Wolves, who sit bottom of the table after six games.
Newcastle United have drawn blanks on three occasions, as they continue to feel the effects of Alexander Isak’s departure.
The situation is made more challenging by Yoane Wissa’s injury, with the summer signing not expected to return until after the international break.
Eddie Howe also has Nick Woltemade, who has scored two goals since becoming Newcastle’s most expensive signing. The 23-year-old has done very well since his arrival, but Charlie Adam has spotted a problem with the giant German.
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Newcastle United told to play Nick Woltemade deeper
Speaking on the TalkSPORT Premier League All Access podcast, former Liverpool and Blackpool midfielder Charlie Adam admitted that he thinks Woltemade should be playing in a deeper role rather than as an out-and-out striker.
“I watched Woltemade in the summer for Germany under 21s and he stands out because of his height and his size,” he said.
“But technically, he’s a very good player, and I look at him and I think, this could be a Peter Crouch sort of situation here.
“But I don’t think he’s a number nine. I think he’s more of like a number 10, so he could play off somebody.
“But again, for them to have Wissa out, losing Isak was key, it’s massive. And to replace that, we’ve seen it with a number of clubs over the years that when you lose somebody like that, it’s very difficult to replace.
“You have to try get some sort of goalscoring form. The big man scored a great goal yesterday. I thought it was a wonderful header. But Newcastle are going to find it tough this year with losing Isak and being without Wissa at the moment.”
Eddie Howe completely disagrees about Nick Woltemade’s position at Newcastle United
Woltemade has made five appearances for Newcastle United so far, all of which have been as a central striker.
He has not been supplied with many chances, which is why it is impressive that he has still been able to score two goals.
The Newcastle United squad must adapt to Woltemade’s style and figure out how to supply him with more chances, as Howe has made it clear that he will not be altering the forward’s position.
Ahead of facing Arsenal, Eddie Howe was asked about Woltemade’s position. He disputed the suggestion that he could play as a number 10, as that is not something his side do.
“It’s difficult to see him as a 10 seeing as we don’t play with someone in that position,” he said.
“I see him as a nine. But as a nine who plays it slightly differently to other nines that we might have had in the past. You can’t compare Nick to Callum Wilson for example, they are two totally different profiles of player. But it doesn’t mean they can’t both be effective.
“It’s utilising the players to their strengths and getting the players to understand where Nick wants the ball and how he plays.”
While Adam does have a point that Woltemade could benefit more from playing slightly deeper, the only way that will happen at Newcastle is if he plays alongside Yoane Wissa up front. In that instance, Woltemade would have the licence to drop off into pockets of space like Dennis Bergkamp used to do for Arsenal.
However, it is not going to result in Newcastle United shifting their formation to a 4-2-3-1.
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