Newcastle could hire Howe’s big boost Woltemade thinks is “outstanding”

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe CONTINUES to deal with the pressure at St James’ Park after his side were beaten 1-0 by Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday.

Sky Sports conducted a poll last Friday asking fans whether they expect the English coach to manage the Magpies when the 2026/27 campaign begins.

60.8% of the 1,971 voters believe that Howe will not be at the club next season, with only 39.2% of the votes believing that the English manager will keep his job on Tyneside.

The Magpies have lost five in a row in all competitions and lost six of their eight Premier League games, putting pressure on Howe’s place in the dugout.

One of the reasons why the English manager may lose his job is that he failed to get the best out of the club’s £69m forward signing Nick Woltemade.

How Nick Woltemade’s struggles show Eddie Howe should be sacked

The German has scored just seven goals in 30 Premier League appearances this season, and has not started the last three top-flight games.

Woltemade was moved into central midfield by Howe at the start of the year, playing nine times in that position, and did not look as comfortable as Joelinton did after the same move.

The German star was dropped into midfield against Manchester City in February on the back of a 13-game league goalless run, but that tactical adjustment overlooked the real problem – chance creation.

Newcastle rank in the middle of the pack in most attacking and tactical metrics, indicating that they are not one of the oldest teams in the division.

Woltemade suffered from the team’s lack of creativity as he had 6.39 xG chances created in the Premier League, scoring seven goals.

Howe was unable to train a successful attacking team to match his £69m striker and resorted to playing him in midfield before dropping him instead of developing his service.

The Newcastle manager should aim to replace Eddie Howe

Therefore, Newcastle should move on from Howe and thank him for his brilliant service to the club before appointing a manager who can coach the attack to the next level.

Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeneß will be the perfect time to enter St. James’ Park as an improvement to Howe. He hasn’t been linked to this team, but it would make a lot of sense.

Yes, he already knows Woltemade and how to make him successful, having worked with him in Stuttgart last season. The German striker scored 17 goals in 33 games for Hoeneß in the 2024/25 campaign, including five goals in five games to win the DFB Pokal.

The Stuttgart manager got the best out of the £69m-rated striker by always making sure he had the players close to him to use his unique profile to link play and thread together, with a variety of 3-4-2-1, 4-4-2, and 4-2-2-2 formations being used.

Howe, however, often uses a 4-3-3 formation with three workhorses in midfield and two natural wide players who hug the touchline, leaving the midfielder alone and relying only on crossing situations.

Newcastle’s style of play has had a clear effect on Woltemade as he averages 13 fewer touches per game than he did in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart, resulting in him creating fewer ‘big chances’, taking fewer shots, and scoring fewer goals.

Hoeneß, whom Woltemade hailed as an “outstanding” coach, got the best out of the striker with his attacking style of play, and led Stuttgart to the DFB Pokal trophy in the process.

Despite losing his star man, as Howe did with Alexander Isak last summer, the German boss has Stuttgart fourth in the Bundesliga and the DFB Pokal final for the second season running.

Meanwhile, Howe has been ruled out of every cup competition and his side are 14th in the Premier League, as they struggle to figure out how to get the best out of their attackers.

Therefore, Hoeneß may come to St. James’ Park as a big improvement for England because he has shown that he can win and compete for trophies, while competing well in his home league, with his star players and outside, while playing effective attacking football.

That’s why Newcastle should be looking at the German’s tactical moves if they decide to part ways with Howe in the summer.

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