Daily Mail’s Craig Hope has reported that Newcastle United could field Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade together once the Congolese striker returns from injury next month.
If that ends up being true, it’d be a development that would mark a tactical shift from the club’s original plan and Eddie Howe’s usual 4-3-3 formation and scheme.
“Nick Woltemade has shouldered the burden up front with Wissa out — and I’m hearing there’s a chance that both of them could play in the same team when the Congo star returns,”
Hope wrote.
Hope revealed that Wissa’s expected role has evolved as Newcastle’s wingers continue to struggle early in the season.
“I’ve had a few conversations around this and, given the sticky form of the widemen so far this season, Wissa operating from the right in a team WITH Woltemade is possible,” Hope said.
Originally, Wissa and Woltemade were intended to “share the load at centre forward,” but Hope added that “we might see more of them playing together than perhaps was expected — at least when they are both fully up to speed.”
Wissa, who joined Newcastle for £55 million on deadline day, is still recovering from a posterior cruciate ligament injury sustained on international duty in September. Hope confirmed that he “does not require an operation and, as such, remains on track for a November return,” with swelling in his knee the only remaining concern.
Earlier reports had targeted November 2 against West Ham for his comeback, though Hope now says “the game at Brentford the following weekend — Wissa’s former club, of course — could be more likely for his long-awaited debut.”
The 29-year-old has been training on grass and could have featured sooner with injections, but Newcastle are taking a cautious approach.
“He has signed for four years, not a few months,” one source told Hope.
Newcastle’s patience is bolstered by Woltemade’s strong start, with the German forward thriving as the lone striker during Wissa’s absence.
