Following the departure of Alexander Isak to Liverpool, Opta Analyst's Ali Tweedale and Ryan Benson look at how new signings Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade can potentially replace the Swede in Newcastle United's attack.
Yoane Wissa
Yoane Wissa has finally got his way, being granted the move from Brentford to Newcastle United he so wanted.
There is good reason to believe it could prove a worthwhile deal for Eddie Howe and Newcastle after agreeing to sell Alexander Isak to Liverpool for a British record fee.
Newcastle have a huge goal deficit to make up after Isak’s departure. They signed Nick Woltemade from Bundesliga side Stuttgart, but the 23-year-old, while clearly talented, has only ever scored 14 top-flight goals, and there is far more to his game than providing goal threat, not least in how much he likes to drop deep to get on the ball. (More on this below)
So, in Wissa, who turned 29 on 3 September, Newcastle have brought in a Premier League-ready centre-forward whose main job is threatening goal. That’s not to say it's his only strength, but it is something he does exceptionally well.
In the Premier League last season, only Mohamed Salah scored more non-penalty goals (20) than Wissa's 19, while only Erling Haaland generated a higher non-penalty Expected Goals (xG) total (18.9) than his 18.6. On a per-90-minute basis, too, only Haaland was ahead of Wissa, with 0.60 non-penalty xG to Wissa’s 0.57.
In other words, he was a consistent and effective threat. One of the best in the top flight, in fact. And all while playing for the 10th-best team in the division – if you go by Brentford’s final league position.
A look at where he had shots from last season shows just how threatening he was and how often he got on the end of balls into the box extremely close to goal.
Wissa xG map 2024/25
That is something Isak did quite well for Newcastle, too, though he outscored his xG to a greater degree than Wissa, largely because he has a long-range screamer in him. He scored three goals from outside the box last season, whereas Wissa didn’t score one.
Isak xG map 2024/25
Newcastle scored a lot of goals last season through Jacob Murphy haring down the right flank and putting a low ball across goal for Isak to tap in. Murphy assisted Isak more times (seven) than any other player combination in the Premier League last season. Among those assists, look at how many of them were from balls across the face of goal.
Murphy's assists for Isak 2024/25
Wissa is no stranger to building a fruitful relationship with a specific player, either. He and Bryan Mbeumo established one of the most effective attacking partnerships the Premier League has seen in recent years.
Last season, only two other Premier League duos created more chances for one another than the 29 he and Mbeumo managed (Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke – 35, Dominik Szoboszlai and Salah – 33).
Meanwhile, only two other combinations (Isak and Murphy, and Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins) managed more assists for one another (seven each) than Mbeumo and Wissa (six).
So, while at least to begin with, he provides an alternative option to Woltemade and one who is ready to go at this level, they could also feasibly play together, too.
Stuttgart often played in a version of a 4-4-2, with Woltemade up front alongside Ermedin Demirovic or Deniz Undav, and he showed that he can dovetail extremely effectively with a strike partner. The German likes to take on more of the creative responsibility, dropping deep and looking for the ball to feet, helping to make space further up the pitch for a more penalty-box-focused forward to exploit.
Given Wissa’s success when combining with a more creative partner (Mbeumo topped the Premier League last season for Expected Assists, with 9.3), there is potential for this partnership to work, too.
Wissa isn’t just the kind of forward who will hang around on the shoulder of the last defender, though. He is a technical footballer, and likes to get on the ball as well. He can’t dribble his way through a defence like Isak can, but he is still far more than just a penalty-box poacher.
Wissa's open-play touches 2024/25
Among strikers in the Premier League last season, only two recorded more carries (moving at least five metres with the ball) than Wissa (244), and interestingly, one of them was Isak (268). The other was Joao Pedro (273) for those interested.
Only those two and Liam Delap recorded more progressive carries (moving at least five metres with the ball towards the opposition’s goal) than Wissa (119), while only Delap (26) recorded more carries followed by a shot than the former Brentford man (24). Only Haaland (six) followed up a carry with a goal more times than Wissa (three).
Although Wissa is primarily concerned with finishing off chances, there is more to his game than that. Clearly, he is also capable – like Isak, although not as well as Isak – of creating chances for himself. He leaves Brentford a club legend, having become their leading Premier League scorer, with 45 goals, which is three more than Mbeumo (42) and nine more than Ivan Toney (36).
Now, having been handed the No 9 shirt at St James’ Park, he has the chance to make a name for himself at one of the Premier League’s most famous and biggest clubs.
There was never any chance of Newcastle replacing Isak this summer, but Wissa is a decent option for giving it a good go.
Nick Woltemade
As mentioned above, Woltemade isn’t quite your conventional target man. Obviously, his 6ft 6in height gives him an advantage in some situations, and his 114 aerial duels contested last season were ranked 13th among Bundesliga forwards. But of the 18 forwards who tallied at least 100 aerial duels in 2024/25, 11 bettered his success rate of 44.7 per cent.
Woltemade is subtle – graceful, even. Happiest with the ball at his feet, he ranked sixth among nominal centre-forwards in the Bundesliga last season for dribble attempts (73), though his 1,620 minutes played was fewer than all of those above him.
His 9.8 ball carries – movements of at least five metres in possession – per 90 were the sixth most among centre-forwards who have played at least 900 minutes in the Bundesliga last season. While that is a strength of his generally, and aided by his close control, it also manifested in decisive situations.
After all, his four goal-ending carries were bettered only by Jamal Musiala and Omar Marmoush (with five each) across the entire league in 2024/25. That those four came from just seven shot-ending carries reflects very well on his maturity and decision making.
It’s also worth noting that only 10 players – just two of whom could be considered centre-forwards – bettered his 13 chance-creating carries. And that being almost double his shot-ending carries tally also speaks to a certain on-pitch level-headedness.
Essentially, the creative side of the game is probably where Woltemade’s qualities shine most.
For starters, among nominal centre-forwards in the Bundesliga last season, Woltemade comfortably led the way for open-play chances created per 90, with 1.9. It wasn’t just a case of him playing short passes to team-mates who’d have a go from range either. He brought genuine creative ingenuity to Stuttgart.
His 0.25 Expected Goals (xG) assisted per 90 was the same as the widely lauded Florian Wirtz and bettered by only six players in the whole division. Woltemade’s vision in the final third has long been praised as one of his greatest assets, and this is a pretty effective way of quantifying that.
But just because some of Woltemade’s most notable strengths revolve around dropping into deeper positions, linking the play together and being a creative force, it doesn’t mean he isn’t also useful in the box.
While his goals record prior to joining Stuttgart was hardly exceptional, but he frequently played roles that required him to be something other than just a fox in the box. He took on a more focal point last season and that was reflected in his improved record in front of goal.
A total of 12 Bundesliga goals might appear modest, but those were scored at a rate of one every 135 minutes; only three players aged 23 or under last season bettered that across the top five European leagues.
Similarly, his record of 2.6 non-penalty shots per 90 was a highly respectable figure for a player who also carried considerable creative responsibility.
It’s also important to observe where those shots were taken from; all but one of his 46 non-penalty attempts came from inside the area, which is a positive sign for a player who likes to drop deep and get involved in the build-up.
Similarly, his 9.4 touches in the opposition’s box per 90 since the start of last season are the third most in the top five leagues. It all suggests he does a good job of balancing these responsibilities.
Furthermore, Woltemade ranked fourth among Bundesliga centre-forwards for proportion of off-ball runs into the area that made him available for a cross while a teammate had possession in a wide area, with 17.8 per cent. This is evidence of him being proactive in attack even when not in possession himself.
And when chances did fall to him, Woltemade was reliable. His 10 non-penalty goals came from 8.0 non-pen xG and he boasted a shot-conversion rate of 24.5 per cent, the fourth-best among Bundesliga players to attempt at least 40 shots in 2024/25.
In short, Woltemade was one of the most rounded centre-forwards in Europe last season. He was one of just six centre-forwards from the top five leagues to average at least 2.0 shots (2.7), 0.3 non-pen xG (0.44), 7.0 touches in the opposition’s box (9.8) and 1.0 open-play chances created (1.9) on a per-90 basis.
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Height-difference partnerships in Premier League history
Woltemade and Wissa may be able to draw inspiration from these successful attacking duos, in which one forward was significantly taller than his strike partner: