Eddie Howe is still working out how to get the best out of his new-look Newcastle United squad.
It was a summer of change at St James’ Park, with six new signings joining the club. There was also a major outgoing, with Alexander Isak joining Liverpool.
It is a new era for the Magpies, who are going to be playing very differently with Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa in attack.
The giant German is particularly different to anything Eddie Howe has had before at Newcastle United, and it is going to be fascinating to see how the Toon boss gets the best out of his new superstar striker.
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Nick Woltemade could play deeper role for Newcastle United
Speaking exclusively to Geordie Boot Boys, transfer expert Graeme Bailey has suggested that Woltemade could soon play in a deeper role for Newcastle United, with Wissa leading the line up front.
“He [Woltemade] is a fascinating player,” he said.
“He’s clearly a number 10, a bit like Kai Havertz at Arsenal. It’s going to be interesting to see how he adapts to Newcastle and how they adapt to him. He’s more of a Bergkamp kind of striker, someone who will create as many goals as he scores.
“There are games when he will lead the line. The jury could be out until Yoane Wissa returns to fitness.
“Could they play together? I think that is a real option for Eddie Howe.
“It’s going to be fascinating to see how Newcastle adapt to playing with Woltemade.”
Newcastle United system change would be bad news for Joelinton
Playing Newcastle’s record signing as a number 10 with Wissa as the central striker would represent a system change for the Magpies. It would see them line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, despite Howe’s preference being a 4-3-3 shape.
But Howe knows Newcastle are evolving, while he will also be keen to get Woltemade and Wissa in the same team. There will be times when they are needed to play together, and it will certainly be Woltemade who is tasked with dropping off in deeper positions and creating opportunities.
If Newcastle were to shift to a 4-2-3-1 formation, it could be bad news for Joelinton. It would break up the Magpies’ elite midfield three, and there is no chance that Sandro Tonali or Bruno Guimaraes are going to drop to the bench.
That potential change in system could lead towards Joelinton playing out wide again, which is something he did a lot during the 2022/23 season when Newcastle first qualified for the Champions League under Howe.
That is another option that the Newcastle United manager will be considering, at a time when his squad is deeper than ever.
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