The Daily Mail reports that after Newcastle’s 4-1 win over Bradford City in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, many of the club’s stars took part in an attack-versus-defence drill in front of the Gallowgate End. The drill saw Woltemade, Kieran Trippier, Tino Livramento, Harvey Barnes and Sandro Tonali take part, with the Italian midfielder smashing the ball into the roof of a portable net. The session was part of Howe’s call to arms for his players to push forward in scoring more goals in the absence of Isak. The Swede, whose protracted transfer saga and eventual departure to Liverpool dominated Newcastle’s preparations this summer, scored 27 goals in all competitions for the Magpies last term.
Newcastle are struggling to replace that output. They are the Premier League‘s second lowest scorers, bagging just three times in their first five league outing this season. Only Aston Villa, with one, have scored fewer. Howe’s men are averaging just 2.6 shots on target per game, down from 4.6 last year.
If this drought is to continue, questions will certainly be asked of the towering Woltemade. The 23-year-old bought himself some time when he scored on his debut in Newcastle’s 1-0 win over Wolves, however he has not bagged in his following appearances. The towering German offers a significantly different threat than Isak. A highly technical player that likes to drop deep to both connect play and dribble at opponents there is some speculation around the club that his best position may actually be as a second striker or a number 10. However, with Howe preferring to play a sole target man, extra work is required to get Woltemade up to speed with his demands, the requirements of the Premier League and also to get him acclimated to his teammates.
Hope reports that Newcastle’s pre-season tour from hell — Isak’s refusal to travel with the team to Asia kickstarted the extended saga — was the genesis of Howe’s plans to bolster his attack from deep. The head coach routinely led an exercise that saw Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton encouraged to break forward from attack. It will be heartening to the Newcastle coaching staff that Joelinton chipped in with two goals and Bruno two assists in their 4-1 victory over Bradford.
However, the manager will be hoping for more from his wide players. The quartet of Anthony Gordon, Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy and Anthony Elanga have yet to record a goal and boast just one assist between them. That was from Murphy’s cross to Woltemade for the German’s debut goal.
At £55 million (€64m), Elanga represented a significant investment for the Magpies, but he has yet to displace Murphy in Howe’s preferred starting XI. Speaking to Mail Sport, Howe said: ‘It’s harsh to say he’s got no goals or assists. Statistically, that is right. But you look at the chances he has created and sometimes it’s not on him that players he has served haven’t scored.
“If Nick scores Jacob’s cross with the header, he gets the assist. Vice-versa, if someone misses an opportunity, that assist doesn’t happen. Anthony has done his job several times but it hasn’t ended up in a goal.
“He’s looked a threat. He has that raw pace and power that is so difficult to defend against. But I think he can get better, and we can help him do that as we continue to work with him.”
Currently sitting in 13th in the Premier League and having lost their Champions League opener to Barcelona, Newcastle will need to address their goalscoring problems quickly. They have the toughest possible assignment next up, as they square off with a profligate Arsenal side. That is followed by a trip to Belgium, to face Pro League champion’s Union Saint-Gilloise. Tony Bloom’s side have conceded just four goals in eight league games this season. With new man Wissa expected to be out for another three weeks, the burden may well fall on Woltemade to act as both the primary goal threat, and a facilitator to bring in attacking threats from the centre of the park and out wide.
