Eddie Howe has admitted Newcastle United is missing an unnamed “X Factor” in attack following the departure of Alexander Isak, while also urging patience with new signings Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa,
and clearly pointing toward the lack of a proven goalscorer such as the Sweden international leading the Magpies’ frontline.
Newcastle, for context, have managed just three goals in five Premier League this season, with only Aston Villa (one) scoring fewer. Sunday’s 0-0 draw at Bournemouth was their third away stalemate of the campaign and came days after a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League.
“We’re going through a period where we’ve had the biggest change to the squad since my time here,” Howe said. “In an ideal world you have a full pre-season to iron out any issues you have. That was never the thought of anyone connected to the club, but the way the summer unfolded — and there is a whole host of reasons why that happened — this is the situation we’ve been placed in.”
Howe added that the team is “playing with strength” but missing the spark that Isak once provided.
“The squad is really strong but we need to do a lot of work now to try and gel the team together. I think the biggest thing is the foundation is solid. The team is playing with strength, it’s just missing that X factor that I think will come.”
Woltemade, signed for £69m from Werder Bremen, has scored once, in his debut with the team, but is still adapting to Premier League demands.
The loss of Wissa to injury, however, is what has truly complicated Newcastle’s gameplan on offense. The £55m summer signing suffered a knee problem while on international duty with DR Congo and is not expected back until mid-October.
Howe described his absence as “huge” and admitted Wissa’s availability would have eased the burden on Woltemade.
