Howe backs Woltemade and Wissa to find Newcastle form

Eddie Howe has backed summer signings Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa to find their form at Newcastle.

Woltemade and Wissa arrived for a combined sum of £124m last summer as the Magpies reinvested the funds made from Alexander Isak’s sale to Liverpool.

The former began brightly but has seen his form dip, while Wissa missed the start of the season through injury and has failed to get back to his best level. The pair have scored just eight Premier League goals between them with Newcastle’s recruitment questioned.

Howe, however, has backed both players to find form. Speaking ahead of Newcastle’s clash with Brentford, he said Woltemade is still adjusting to the demands of English football.

“He is young, it’s a new league. He started so well and I think everybody expected that to continue but I think that is very difficult to do, as much as we wanted that to happen for him.

“He is getting to grips with the challenges of the Premier League; the speed, the intensity and the physicality. And of course teams are getting to know him as well and I think that is the biggest challenge for him, teams understand his game and what he wants to do so he has to find solutions the other way.

“You have to keep ahead of the other teams so there is work for him to do but I think he has done everything with such a great attitude and great way. That is the biggest thing for me he needs to do to be successful.”

Howe also said Wissa’s long-term knee issue has hindered him this season. The DR Congo international will hope up for an upturn when he faces former club Brentford tomorrow evening.

“I am hopeful that he can find his best form as we go through the season. I think he will continue to get better and better physically. Unfortunately, there is no magic wand to his physical condition because when he came to us he hadn’t trained regularly anyway, then he picked up a serious knee injury and he is starting again – in a hurry to get fit for his new team desperate to impress and get back.

“He is fit and he’s fine. It is just his match sharpness and things you take for granted when you’re fully fit.

“Sometimes it can be hard to refind as quickly as you want to. There is no doubting his quality, his goalscoring abilities and his instincts are still there – it is just getting that last bit of sharpness in his game that will come through time.”

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