Newcastle United fans have had to endure a summer of change at St James’ Park, with changes in the dugout and throughout the squad.
Eddie Howe decided to resign as head coach and was replaced by Matthias Jessel, who subsequently lost several key players.
Sandro Tonali joined Tottenham Hotspur for £100 million, Anthony Gordon joined Barcelona for £69 million, and Bruno Guimarães moved to Premier League champion Arsenal for £75 million.
The Magpies have also decided to part ways with center Nick Waltermade, who joined Juventus on loan, just 12 months after signing him for £69m from Stuttgart.
Why Nick Waltermade struggled at Newcastle last season
There is no doubt that the Germany international is a talented footballer capable of producing quality moments at the top of the pitch, but he ultimately failed at St James’ Park due to a lack of fitness and intensity.
He excelled in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart, scoring 17 goals in the 2024/25 season, but the pace and intensity of the Premier League seems to be too much for him to handle.
Walter Mader made 33 appearances in the top flight for the Magpies, scoring eight goals and providing three assists, which was not an exceptional return considering the cost of his services.
25/26 Premier League | Nick Waltermade |
|---|---|
Number of appearances | 33 |
xG | 6.59 |
Target | 8 |
created huge opportunities | 5 |
Assist | 3 |
Number of duels won per game | 2.8 |
Ground duel success rate | 38% |
Aerial duel success rate | 38% |
However, due to the fierce competition in the division, the performance of the German No. 9 player was poor. He lost 62% of his duels on the ground and in the air, suggesting that opposition centre-backs found it too easy to beat him.
In hindsight, Newcastle made a mistake with Walter Mader as he did not possess the physical qualities to serve as the lone number nine in English football.
Newcastle already have another Nick Waltermade
The 6ft 6in centre-forward isn’t the only player to have struggled at St James’ Park of late, though, as the current squad has a failed player on his way to becoming the next Walter Mader.
In the same summer that the German giants joined from Stuttgart, the Magpies signed Eoin Wiesa from Premier League rivals Brentford for £55 million.
It looks like a signing on paper as the DR Congo international has scored 19 goals in the Bees’ Premier League campaign in 2024/25.
But unfortunately, the 30-year-old marksman has signed 2/10 players for Newcastle so far and it looks like Howe has screwed up on this signing.
Visa’s recent display for the Magpies against Hull City summed up his career on Tyneside so far, as he missed a first-half penalty with a chance to make it 3-0.
The veteran striker failed to exert enough power in his low shot, which allowed Konstantinos Zolakis to tip the ball wide of the post.
Visa (Premier League) | 25/26 | 26/27 |
|---|---|---|
Number of appearances | 19 | 5 |
xG | 3.12 | 2.34 |
Target | 1 | 1 |
missed opportunity | 6 | 4 |
Assist | 1 | 1 |
Ground duel success rate | 25% | 50% |
Aerial duel success rate | 43% | 40% |
Following that misstep, Visa has scored just two goals with 5.46 xG in the Premier League since joining Newcastle from Brentford for a considerable fee, missing 10 “big chances” in the process.
He hasn’t been as clinical as expected after scoring 19 goals for Brentford last season, which is why he is such a disappointing signing for the club.
Like Walter Mader, Visa has struggled physically at times when playing as a lone striker, failing most of his ground and aerial duels in 2025/26.
Howe played a more physical game than Brentford, who played mainly for Visa, Kevin Shedd and Brian Mbemo at the back, which exposed a lack of intensity and physicality at the top of the pitch for Visa and Walter Mader.
In hindsight, the English manager screwed up with both players and if Visa continues to struggle in front of goal this season, they may soon be on their way to the Magpies.
At the moment, it’s difficult to rate the DR Congo international as anything more than a 2/10 signing, given his dismal goalscoring record and goalscoring numbers compared to the money paid for him.