Woltemade: An excellent start. Saturday’s 2-1 defeat against Brighton at the Amex came as a disappointment after back-to-back wins against Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League and Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. Two goals from Danny Welbeck were enough to give the Seagulls the win, but a superb goal from Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade was a bright spot.
The improvised flick off his heel to finish a chance created by Lewis Miley marked Woltemade’s fourth Premier League goal of the season. It was also his fifth goal in all competitions since making the move to Tyneside from Stuttgart in a deal that is going to be worth more than £65 million once all is said and done. Although still very early in his Newcastle United career, the signs are looking good for the 23 year old Germany international. So is he already proving to be an astute signing and a good replacement for Alexander Isak?
Jacob Murphy and Miguel Almiron. Whilst Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy have been great servants for the club, Almiron with his energy, and Murphy with his big contribution last season in terms of assists (he was joint top with Trippier on 7), there is little doubt that in the front three, the Magpies are stronger on the left with Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes than they are on the right, a situation which was not rectified in the last transfer window, nor the one before that.
Whilst Gordon can also play on the right, he is now undoubtedly a very important player for the side and not playing him in his optimum position would be a bad compromise. On the other hand, Barnes is also a fine left winger who is too good to waste away on the side lines. That’s a slightly different discussion though. The question for this article is why, not for the first time, have the club failed to strengthen the right wing, whilst bringing in some players in positions that seem to be more well served? (more…)
Odysseas Vlachodimos. Whilst some of the signings by Newcastle United this season are predictable and understandable, like Lewis Hall’s move from Chelsea after a season on loan, and the signing of Lloyd Kelly, a decent enough utility defender who played for Eddie Howe at Bournemouth, there are some which seem slightly more perplexing though, at least initially. In this piece, I will look at some of these, starting with Newcastle’s current roster of five first team goalkeepers.
There are the two new goalkeepers, Odysseas Vlachodimos and John Ruddy from Nottingham Forest and Birmingham respectively. (more…)
David: Young, versatile, consistent and not injury prone. When Callum Wilson signed for the Magpies in 2020, I think it’s fair to say that many fans who were initially underwhelmed were very pleasantly surprised by his goals. However, his achilles heel is, his achilles heel, and numerous other parts of his body which seem to get injured whenever it looks like he is finally going to get a good run in the side.
In 2022, the club then signed Alexander Isak for a record fee of over £60 million. Though Isak has definitely shown his potential on the pitch since coming to the club with some great skills and goals, he too has been somewhat prone to injuries, which has left the club bereft of a proper Centre Forward at times. Wilson has been great when he’s been fit but he has been so fragile, the club needs someone else. (more…)
Joe Willock: Toon’s only Summer signing. One thing most Toon fans can agree about is that Joe Willock certainly made a very positive impression during his loan spell last season. If anything, it seemed as if he was almost too good (bear with me). With every performance (and every goal), it seemed as if he was drifting away from us, either Arsenal would see the error of their ways and want him back, or his price would escalate to the point where notoriously tightfisted Toon owner, Mike Ashley, would get the vapours at the sums being mentioned, but it didn’t. Willock was sold for around the price we thought he would be in the first place if the figures being bandied around (£20-25 million) are to be believed. (more…)
