'Who knows' - Eddie Howe responds to suggestions Newcastle United have signed another Joelinton
Nick Woltemade has been compared to Joelinton following his move into Newcastle United’s midfield.
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has played down the comparisons between Nick Woltemade and Joelinton.
The Magpies signed Joelinton as a striker in a then-club record £40million deal from Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim in July 2019.
But the club’s iconic number nine shirt weighed too heavily on the Brazilian. A year later, he changed to the number seven after Callum Wilson joined from AFC Bournemouth for £20m.
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During the opening two years of his Newcastle career, Joelinton was often referred to as a flop, with many questioning his future. But the appointment of Howe and one game in particular changed everything.
November 2021, in one of Howe’s opening matches in charge, Joelinton was forced to drop into the midfield after Ciaran Clark’s red card saw United reduced to 10 men in their 1-1 draw at home to Norwich City.
The rest, as they say, is history, and the 29-year-old has been recognised as a midfielder ever since. Almost four years on, is history repeating itself?
Eddie Howe plays down Joelinton & Nick Woltemade comparisons
Woltemade also arrived as a striker for a club-record fee but has started his last three matches on the left side of the midfield three.
Asked if the German was undergoing a ‘Joelinton transformation’, Howe replied: “No, I wouldn't necessarily say so. I can understand why you would ask the question, but I'd say Nick was always, in our thoughts, very much a deep-lying player, a deep-lying number nine.
“All his best work came from starting higher and coming lower, now he’s just starting lower and staying sort of in the middle line, I don't think it's a great change.
“Of course, there are different things you need to bring in that position but I think he's played really, really well there the last few games. I've been very impressed with him, none more so in the Qarabag game, in the first leg. I thought he was outstanding that day.
“Who knows what the future holds for him, but I just think he's a very, very good attacker for us and we'll use him in a variety of positions.”
Nick Woltemade is ‘very happy’ playing centre-midfield for Newcastle United
The 24-year-old immediately hit the ground running after signing from Stuttgart for £64m last summer, scoring seven goals in his first 14 starts.
Woltemade scored a brace against Chelsea in December but then went 14 matches without scoring before ending that drought in the recent FA Cup fourth round win over Aston Villa in his first game as a midfielder.
With the World Cup on the horizon, Woltemade hold hopes of leading Germany’s line but is “very happy” playing in midfield for Newcastle.
“I've had many conversations with Nick on sort of a broad range of subjects, really.” Howe said. “I think even when he's playing as a number nine, as we used him, it wasn't to stretch the line, it was to come lower on the pitch.
“I think in terms of his Germany career, without speaking for Nick, I think him playing well in any position for us is only going to help supplement that. Nick is very, very happy playing the role that he has done the last few games.
“There's no sort of fight with him on that. He's very much all in because he wants to showcase his best skills and his best skills is technically helping his link play.
“But I think what we've seen, which maybe has surprised me even to a point, has been his tactical understanding and his ability to understand the press, understand what he needs to do defensively. He's been excellent.
“He does have a sort of freedom on the ball to take up central positions. He has the freedom to drift to a degree across the pitch, so he's not sort of stranglehold by the position into one place.
“I think hopefully we'll see the very best of him. But his position isn't fixed. We can change however we see fit, depending on the game.”