There is no denying that manager Eddie Howe and his Newcastle United first team charges have had a poor start to the 2025/26 Premier League campaign, but in fairness given the disrupted and slightly childish summer we suffered with Alexander Isak throwing his toys out of the pram, it was probably inevitable.
We eventually managed our way through it and in selling the petulant wantaway striker to Liverpool for a £125 million, our summer business ended with the arrivals of Anthony Elanga, Malick Thiaw, Jacob Ramsey, Nick Woltemade and the late deadline day capture of fellow striker Yoane Wissa. Whilst we continue to wait to see what 29 year old Wissa can offer us, 23 year old Woltemade has surprised plenty in the wider world of football given how he has adapted to the English top flight challenge and he already has five goals in eight starting appearances, and two substitute showings.
Whilst we are still searching for some proper consistency in our performance levels, there are good signs of improvement and good reasons to be confident as we move forward towards the New Year, and after everything else that we have been juggling, nine games into the domestic season with a return of three wins and three draws should not really be sniffed at as we are solidly midtable in 12th and there is no reason to believe that we cannot again snare a Champions League spot by the end of the campaign.
While fans are hopeful, sports betting forecasts offer an interesting look at how the odds reflect the club’s growing consistency. Helping us find greater consistency will be in seeing what Wissa can actually do for us when he wears the shirt. Until then the Wissa question continues to loom large and we have already been linked with a number of potential additional striking options for January, or the summer, on the speculation rumour mill and Porto star Samu Aghehowa continues to be tentatively linked with a move to St James’ Park.
The 21 year old Porto talent has already earned three caps for Spain at international level given his recent explosion, and many fans may have caught the headlines that have been created as he has also often been referred to as Samuel Omorodion – being linked with a plethora of English sides like Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and many others in Europe’s top leagues – and it is easy to see why when you consider 37 league appearances for Porto have already returned 24 goals following his move to the club back in the summer of 2024.
Amongst all the speculation though it has been heavily reported that in signing his five year deal with the Primeira Liga side, he also agreed to a 100 million Euro release clause. Despite his early potential and the signs he is showing as he grows his first team experience, that kind of fee represents a huge gamble for a lad who is not yet even 22 years of age. In fact, his meteoric rise has been so striking that we’ve heard whispers that professional football clubs use data compiled in the popular management simulation game, Football Manager, as one of the many resources to scout and analyse players of his age and potential.
Whilst we would certainly not expect our board to splash that kind of cash in the January transfer window, should Wissa not quickly settle into life at the club and begin performing to help fill our Isak shaped goal hole, he could well be a name worth remembering as we hit the summer, particularly if his own form shows further consistency.
