Newcastle star labelled 'worst-ever Premier League signing' after Alan Shearer claim

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe (Picture: Getty)

Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade has been labelled the ‘worst-ever Premier League signing’ after his undwhelming start to life in the English top-flight.

Woltemade joined Newcastle for £69 million from Bundesliga side Stuttgart, fresh off an impressive campaign with Germany at the European Under-21 Championship, where he scored six goals in five games.

The 24-year-old was tasked with replacing the attacking output of Alexander Isak , and made an encouraging start at Newcastle with five goals in his first 10 appearances.

However, his form has dipped over recent months, with Woltemade scoring just once in 17 games in 2026 and even finding himself deployed further back in central midfield in recent weeks.

And Eddie Howe ’s unwillingness to have Woltemade leading the line has led talkSPORT presenter Adrian Durham to suggest the German is a contender for the worst ‘pound-for-pound’ signing in the league’s history.

‘Nick Woltemade, I am going to say this – is the worst signing in Premier League history. This isn’t anything against him, it isn’t personal – I hear he’s a very good teammate,’ he said.

‘But £65-70million for one of those, and we’ve got to delve deeper. I was in Newcastle the other night for the Qarabag game, the tie was done, so it was a chance for players to shine, and it was a night Newcastle had a free hit. Their expensive striker needs goals, and he starts in central midfield.

Nick Woltemade has struggled recently for Newcastle (Picture: Getty)

‘Now, this is possibly because he doesn’t trust him up front. He didn’t play well in central midfield. Eddie Howe said he didn’t play well in central midfield, saying it is the least he’s affected the game since he arrived at the club.

‘Is he a nine? No. One goal in 18 games is not a nine. Is he a midfielder? No, definitely not. Is he a ten? Have a look at the number tens around the Premier League. Morgan Rogers , Cole Palmer , Bruno Fernandes. Morgan Gibbs-White, etc.

‘There are better number tens in the Championship than Woltemade. Two Premier League assists all season, and when did Newcastle play with a ten? They aren’t going to rip up that three-man midfield to put Woltemade at ten.

The German was signed as a replacement for Alexander Isak (Picture: Getty)

‘Let’s get this right. He is a footballer, he’s got talent. But he has not got a place in the Newcastle United team, and I think that is the fundamental flaw here.

‘It’s not about him as a person, it’s not about him as a player even. But it’s the way Newcastle play, the fact they needed to replace Isak, Howe is putting him all over the park trying to find a place for him.

‘£70m and he hasn’t even got a place in the team? That’s your big signing. That’s a joke signing. So pound-for-pound, for what a team needed and what he brings, I make Woltemade the worst-ever Premier League signing.’

@metrosportuk Newcastle will reach the UCL semi-final 😳 With Newcastle’s route in the UEFA Champions League, it seems very plausible Eddie Howe’s side can reach the semi-finals of the competition. If they beat Qarabag in the play-offs, they’d come up against Chelsea or Barcelona in the round of 16, and then either Club Brugge, Atlético Madrid, Liverpool, or Tottenham in the quarters. Could they make it that far? #championsleague #newcastle #footballnews #ucl #newcastleunited ♬ original sound – Metro Sport – Metro Sport

Durham’s comments come only days after Newcastle legend Alan Shearer suggested that Woltemade’s style was becoming an ‘issue’ for Howe.

‘Clearly Woltemade is an issue for Newcastle,’ Shearer told Premier League Productions.

‘Because the money they spent on him, near enough £70m, then deciding to play Gordon as a centre-forward tells you he’s not quite been what they thought he could be in that position.

‘They’re trying to work out what’s best for him. Is he a No.10? Probably not. They try and play him in more of a midfield role, well, you see he can’t press, because he hasn’t got the legs, he hasn’t got the energy to do what Eddie Howe’s teams have done which have made Newcastle successful over the years.

‘And they’re still working out and figuring out how to get the best of Woltemade because his game, his stature, his pace of play is not suited to what Newcastle have done in being successful under Eddie Howe with the energy.

‘When Newcastle were at their very best, Newcastle were going after teams and pressing and not giving them any time to play whatsoever, but he [Woltemade] can’t do that.

‘That tells you he’s [Howe] playing a winger in a centre-forward position that he has an issue in there.’