Traditionally, with the exception of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne, the jump from the Bundesliga to the Premier League is one of the hardest tasks for an incoming transfer.

So far at Newcastle United, Nick Woltemade has shown that he’s got what it takes to succeed in English football, netting seven goals in his first 21 total appearances.

But in recent weeks, despite his strong start, the big German’s positive performances have become few and far between, with him subbed off at half-time at West Ham, struggling in home games against Burnley and Spurs, and

And it’s something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Eddie Howe and those within the club, who have an interesting observation over Woltemade’s slight downturn in form…

Woltemade in the ‘red zone’

In his latest piece for The iPaper, Mark Douglas discussed what Newcastle insiders have been saying about Nick Woltemade’s current energy levels.

There is a belief behind the scenes that he is battling fatigue and ‘playing  close to the red zone’, with the 6ft 6″ striker forced to play more minutes than initially planned due to Yoane Wissa’s slow recovery from a knee injury and Will Osula’s recent ankle issue.

It’s thought this is not only impacting his form after a recent dip, but also limiting his ability to join a press, which Alan Shearer was critical of earlier this week:

“Insiders feel that Nick Woltemade’s dip in performance level is the result of fatigue at being played more than the club envisaged at this point in his debut season.

“As of yet £55m signing Yoane Wissa hasn’t contributed because of injury and Howe says he remains unable to complete 90 minutes, which puts the onus on Woltemade to shoulder much of the attacking burden.

“He is being asked to contribute to a high press but is playing close to the red zone while Wissa is eased into things.”

It’s no secret that Howe likes to bed in his big signings slowly, but the gaffer’s hand was unfortunately dealt for him by Alexander Isak’s departure, Wissa’s freak injury, Osula’s ankle issues and the poor form of Anthony Gordon when he’s filled in as a false nine.

With precisely 1,500 minutes played so far this season, only the quintet of Bruno Guimaraes, Dan Burn, Malick Thiaw, Sandro Tonali and Nick Pope have played more than Woltemade, who has also been away with Germany over each international break, often playing 90 minutes.

Why Wissa return could be huge

Woltemade was perhaps the happiest man in the North East when it was announced that Wissa would be available for us for December’s fixtures and beyond.

Not only will the Congolese star’s presence afford Woltemade some much needed (and deserved) rest, but it’s a fresh option for a team whose tactics have gotten a little stale this season.

Wissa can give us something different, offering movement in behind, a burst of pace and perhaps even the option to play two up front, although it’s not yet clear if he’ll be able to start.

Speaking on Wissa ahead of today’s game against Fulham, Howe commented:

“I’ll make a decision on that [whether he’s able to start] in consultation with everybody else, and with the player.

“We’ll have to see whether he can execute what we need him to.”

With Osula still out injured, and no Calvin Bassey in the Fulham defence, tonight seems like the perfect opportunity to give Wissa his first meaningful minutes since his deadline day switch from Brentford.