Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe continues to face pressure at St. James’ Park after his side were beaten 1-0 by Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday.
Sky Sports posted a poll last Friday asking supporters if they expect the English head coach to be in charge of the Magpies when the 2026/27 campaign kicks off.
60.8% of the 1,971 voters believe that Howe will not be at the club next season, with only 39.2% of the votes believing that the English boss will keep his job on Tyneside.
The Magpies have lost their last five successive matches in all competitions and have lost six of their last eight games in the Premier League, putting pressure on Howe’s position in the dugout.
One of the reasons why the English boss could lose his job is that he has failed to get the best out of £69m club-record centre-forward signing Nick Woltemade.
How Nick Woltemade’s struggles show Eddie Howe should be sacked
The Germany international has only scored seven goals in 30 appearances in the Premier League this season, and he has not started any of the last three top-flight matches.
Woltemade was moved into a central midfield role by Howe earlier this year, playing nine times in that position, and he did not look as comfortable as Joelinton did after he made a similar move.
The German star was moved into midfield against Manchester City in February because of a run of 13 league games without a goal, but that tactical tweak ignored the real problem – chance creation.
25/26 PL
Newcastle
PL rank
xG
50.5
10th
Big chances created
78
10th
Touches in opposition box
876
8th
Accurate passes per game
375.9
9th
Goals scored per game
1.4
10th
Newcastle rank in the middle of the pile in most attacking and creative metrics, which shows that they are not one of the most creative teams in the division.
Woltemade has suffered as a result of the team’s lack of creativity because he has only had 6.39 xG worth of chances created for him in the Premier League, scoring seven goals.
Howe has been unable to coach an effective attacking set-up to fit his £69m striker and resorted to playing him in central midfield before dropping him instead of improving the service for him.
The manager Newcastle should target to replace Eddie Howe
Newcastle, therefore, should move on from Howe and thank him for his brilliant service to the club before appointing a manager who can coach the attack to the next level.
Stuttgart head coach Sebastian Hoeneß would be the perfect appointment to come in at St. James’ Park as an upgrade on Howe. He has not been linked with a move to the club, but it would make a lot of sense.
He, of course, already knows Woltemade and how to make him effective, having worked with him at Stuttgart last season. The German striker scored 17 goals in 33 games for Hoeneß in the 2024/25 campaign, including five goals in five games to win the DFB Pokal.
The Stuttgart boss got the best out of the £69m-rated striker by always ensuring that he had players close to him to use his unique profile to link play and thread moves together, with varied use of 3-4-2-1, 4-4-2, and 4-2-2-2 formations.
Woltemade
24/25 Bundesliga
25/26 Premier League
Appearances
28
30
xG
10.36
6.39
Shots per game
1.8
1.0
Goals
12
7
Touches per game
32.3
19.3
Big chances created
8
4
Howe, though, typically deploys a 4-3-3 formation with three workhorses in midfield and two natural wide players who hug the touchline, which leaves the centre-forward isolated and relying purely on crossing situations.
Newcastle’s style of play has had a clear impact on Woltemade because he is averaging 13 fewer touches per game than he did in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart, which has led to him creating fewer ‘big chances’, taking fewer shots, and scoring fewer goals.
Hoeneß, who Woltemade hailed as an “outstanding” coach, got the best out of the striker with his attacking style of play, and led Stuttgart to a DFB Pokal trophy in the process.
Despite losing his star man, as Howe did with Alexander Isak last summer, the German boss has Stuttgart in fourth place in the Bundesliga and in the final of the DFB Pokal for the second season running.
Howe, meanwhile, has been knocked out of every cup competition and has his team in 14th in the Premier League, whilst struggling to work out how to get the best out of his attackers.
Hoeneß, therefore, could arrive at St. James’ Park as a big upgrade on the Englishman because he has shown that he can win and compete for trophies, whilst competing well in his domestic league, with and without his star players, whilst playing effective attacking football.
That is why Newcastle should target a move for the German tactician if they decide to part ways with Howe in the summer.
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