Four squad problems Newcastle must fix in 2026 - Part 1

I’ve made no bones about how I feel this season has been a let-down (so far) at Newcastle United.

From Howe’s management at times to individual performances from senior players; the club just haven’t responded well to the chaotic summer that left them without their best striker since Alan Shearer, and with a squad of players that Howe would have probably swapped for the initial targets that rejected moves to Tyneside.

The signings haven’t worked, the system has been somewhat found out, and Newcastle’s only real hope of salvaging any form of European football next season may have to come in the small task of winning the Champions League.

It’s a desperate run-in for Howe’s men, and with the games still coming thick and fast ahead of a major summer overhaul, I take a look at some issues that simply must be sorted out in 2026, starting with Part 1 or 2.

1. Getting the best out of Elanga

It’s safe to say Anthony Elanga’s first season on Tyneside hasn’t went the way he, his manager, or his supporters would have liked – and that’s probably an understatement.

Despite looking marginally better in recent weeks and having odd moments throughout the season where he has looked threatening, Elanga hasn’t shone or stood out in any game really, and for the £55m Newcastle paid for his signature you wouldn’t say no Premier League goals and a single assist has gone a long way towards paying it back. So, what’s the answer?

Elanga seems to suit a side who are willing to sit in and break on the counter, using his electric pace to get up the field quickly (see his stunner for Forest against Man United last season). But with Howe's Newcastle seemingly trying to convert themselves into a possession based footballing side (the jury is out for me at the minute on whether Howe has either the personnel or the tactical nous to execute this correctly), Elanga’s bad form may continue, and does Howe revert to the underdog style, counter-attacking side that got United into 4th in 2023 to accommodate one player?

Most would argue he shouldn’t, which may mean Elanga has become is a multi million pound problem Newcastle couldn’t really afford in a world of PSR. However, that leads me on to the bigger fish in that equation…

2. What's going on with Wissa?

If spending £55m on Elanga, a 23 year old raw talent is an issue – what on earth does that mean for the £55m singing of 29 year old Yoane Wissa?

I liked Wissa at Brentford. He was lively, hard working, he came alive in the box and his relationship with Bryan Mbeumo was really nice to watch, even if we were sometimes on the receiving end of it.

But, like most, I was shocked that the club paid £55m for a player they had started the bidding at £25m just a month earlier. The fact the club were so desperate at the time probably softened the backlash from supporters who may have feared we’d be going into the season with only Will Osula as our striker.

Supporters also bought into Wissa slightly after his public confession about loving Newcastle, even if we were nothing more than his ticket to play in the Champions League. But one thing was certain: that price tag came with an air of responsibility. It had to lead to instant goals. Woltemade was the project striker, Wissa was the banker. And it hasn’t worked.

Given the cost, his age, the fact he has spent half a season out injured and the rest lightly jogging around at St James' Park looking like he’d rather be anywhere else, it could be pound for pound Eddie’s worst singing for Newcastle.

I personally think this one may not be saveable and we should be begging PIF to take him to the SPL. He doesn’t work hard, he doesn’t get in the box, he doesn’t create, and he's not scoring goals? And for a team who are at this moment bereft of that, what good is he to his manager?

Come back tomorrow for Part 2!