Eddie Howe reluctant to rip up Newcastle United plans for Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade

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Eddie Howe admits he’s unsure if Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade can play together at Newcastle United. 

The two summer signings have had contrasting starts to life at Newcastle United after late moves during a chaotic summer transfer window.  

Woltemade scored on his debut for Newcastle United as Howe’s side beat Wolves to claim their first Premier League win of the season. 

Wissa, meanwhile, missed the game after suffering a knee injury while playing for DR Congo over the course of the international break.  

The two should bring firepower into a Newcastle United squad who lost both Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak this summer. 

Still, the Newcastle United manager is unsure if they will play together in his current set-up.

• Who is Eddie Howe? The heroic manager who finally brought a trophy back to Newcastle United

Eddie Howe speaks on Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade partnership  

Howe was speaking after the Wolves game, which was settled by Woltemade’s first-half header. 

With Wissa injured, all the attention was on the towering German striker and he certainly delivered.

The two could feasibly play together. Woltemade looks capable of dropping deep and act as a support striker, while Wissa can also play wide.

However, the Toon boss admitted he didn’t want to disrupt his tactical framework too much. Generally, Newcastle have played a 4-3-3 under Howe, leaving room for only one striker.

Though they could perhaps operate together in certain situations, it seems unlikely Howe will start changing formation.

Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: “It’s something we can do and we’ll look at. I don’t know if we want to change the tactical framework too much but I’ll never rule anything out.” 

Eddie Howe was desperate to sign Yoane Wissa

Newcastle paid over £50million to sign Wissa, which felt steep. While clearly a reliable goal scorer at Premier League level, the forward has little in the way of resale value. 

Still, it’s hard to imagine too many people caring about the fee if the DR Congo international does the business in front of goal.

Indeed, Howe pushed Newcastle to sign Wissa, so it certainly feels as if he’s a big fan. 

It will be interesting to see what happens from here, though. If Woltemade continues to score goals, Wissa may struggle for a starting berth when he’s free of his injury.