Eddie Howe is confident Newcastle will see the best of £124million strikeforce Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa next season after a difficult first campaign on Tyneside.
The Magpies invested the bulk of the proceeds from Alexander Isak’s controversial £130m summer switch to Liverpool in the Germany international and his Democratic Republic of Congo counterpart, but neither has made the starting line-up for the last two games.
Club record £69m signing Woltemade has started 21 of the clubs 33 Premier League games to date, but more recently in a midfield role, while £55m man Wissa, who suffered a knee injury on international duty before he had even kicked a ball for the club, has just four to his name, and neither has scored a league goal in 2026.
However, asked about the pair, Howe said: “They’re both outstanding players. I don’t in any way doubt their individual qualities. They’ll both be better for this season’s experience next season.
“Any signing we make, regardless of age, having a season where they fully understand everything, get used to the environment, used to their team-mates, the location that they’re living in, it’s a big change for the players.
“Next season we’ll see that all the new signings that we integrated this season will be much better for the experience.
“And, of course, then the intense focus shifts on to someone else we may have signed in the summer.
“That’s a healthy thing for them as well because you just go slightly more relaxed, and when you’re more relaxed you play better.
“I believe in all those signings. They’ll come good.”
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