Welcome to The Radar. Nick Wright’s Sky Sports column combines data and opinion to highlight must-know stories from the top and bottom of the Premier League. this week:
💪 Waltemade makes a good start against Newcastle
🔹 Kostoulas is challenged by Hürzeller
🔍 Players to watch this weekend
Walte Maid fills Isaac’s void in a unique way
Nick Woltemade scored his third header of the season in Newcastle’s Carabao Cup win over Spurs on Wednesday. The 6-foot-6-inch striker has proven difficult to handle. Not just in the air.
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Newcastle manager Eddie Howe praised Waltemaid on Friday.
His tally of six goals in just 760 minutes includes two inventive flick finishes, one against Union Saint Giroise and another spectacular goal against Brighton. Against Nottingham Forest, a penalty went into the top corner of the goal as if it had been hit with a pitching wedge.
That’s a level of diversity for a player that’s hard to define. Walte Maid has the physical profile to play the role of a target man. His presence has allowed Newcastle to send more passes for longer, in line with the Premier League’s move towards directness.
He not only scored a headed goal against Spurs, but also against Wolves and Arsenal. There aren’t many strikers who can claim to have beaten Gabriel Magalhães this season, but Woltemade did better than him when he scored Newcastle’s opener against the Gunners in September.
But, as is becoming increasingly clear to his new audience, he is also an excellent technician, capable of a light touch as well as force. He is used to holding the ball in tight spaces. He dropped deep and pulled wide to connect the play. He can also dribble.
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Watch Walte Maid’s stunning flick finish against Brighton
His teammates certainly value his all-round contributions. “He’s so big that it’s a bit easy to score with his head, but he’s a very good player,” said Sandro Tonali after the Spurs game.
“He runs for 90 minutes every time. He plays with us, the midfielders, the defenders. He’s the first defender and the first striker.” Eddie Howe added that he “set the tone” for Newcastle’s pressing.
He is already loved by Newcastle supporters. Having joined from Stuttgart for £69 million in the summer, he has long been a target for Bayern Munich, but so far at least, he has not missed out on the departed Alexander Isak.
It was no secret that Waltemaed had outperformed his predecessor, who is yet to score in the Premier League for Liverpool, but it was his only goal since his £125 million transfer, coming against Southampton in the Carabao Cup.
The injury absence of Yoan Wissa has put added pressure on Waltemaid to perform, but he continues to perform. He has scored four Premier League goals, more than 18 other strikers signed by Premier League clubs during the summer transfer window, which saw unprecedented spending on forwards.
This is all the more impressive given that he has played fewer minutes than many of the other players on the list, including Chelsea’s Joao Pedro, Arsenal’s Victor Gokeres, Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike and Manchester United’s Benjamin Sesco.
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Waltemade’s bold penalty against Nottingham Forest became a hot topic.
Of course, he’s a different type of player than the player he’s replacing. He doesn’t create as many shots or create as many chances as Isak did last season, but he provides an outlet through the air, wins more duels, applies more pressure and wins the ball back more often.
His heat map suggests a broader range.
Isak was focused on stretching the opponent’s defense with runs in behind, while Waltemade was more likely to be seen further from goal, contributing to the building and finishing of the attack.
Heat map comparison of Alexander Isak and Nick Woltemade
Woltemade is still getting used to certain aspects of the Premier League. Issa Diop and Calvin Bassey treated him badly, but they often went unpunished against Fulham last weekend, much to the striker’s displeasure.
But overall his speed of adaptation was very impressive. His challenge now is just to continue in the same vein.
So, is his current scoring rate sustainable? Waltemade has scored four goals from four shots on target in the Premier League. Considering his goals in the Champions League and Carabao Cup, he has 6 of 6 shots on target, which is surprising.
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Woltemade scored his sixth goal of the season in the Carabao Cup win over Spurs.
He reached that number from just 3.46 expected goals-against-value chances, an overperformance that suggests a reversion to the mean may be ahead. Still, his actual goal total could easily exceed that.
Waltemaade hit the post from close range against Fulham last weekend and hit the underside of the crossbar against Nottingham Forest, but his goal-bound shot was blocked by defender Morato six yards inside the box.
In other words, he is defying not only data but also conventional definitions. And Newcastle’s trip to the London Stadium, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports on Sunday, against a West Ham side who cannot defend against crosses or corners, looks like it will be a good one for him to pick up another point.
Sunday, November 2, 1:00 p.m.
Kickoff at 2pm
Newcastle may need to give him more scoring opportunities eventually. Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes, Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga have found the back of the net just once in the Premier League this season, and the wingers will also need to contribute more goals.
But Woltemade now have a player who provides exactly what they need, fills an Isak-type void, contributes more than just goals and has won the battle for the Premier League’s new No. 9 position two months into the season.
Hürzeller pushing Kostoulas
From Newcastle to Brighton. It has been a slow start for the Premier League’s other new striker, Charampos Kostoulas, who joined from Olympiakos in June for £31.4 million.
The 18-year-old has earned a reputation as one of Europe’s most exciting young frontmen, finally making his first start in Brighton’s Carabao Cup match against Arsenal on Wednesday, and scoring his first goal off the bench against Manchester United.
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Charampos Kostoulas scores his first goal for Brighton against Manchester United
Unfortunately for him, it didn’t last long.
Kostoulas looked threatening from the left in the first half at the Emirates Stadium before Fabian Hürzeler was sent off at the interval for “physical reasons”.
“He needs to adapt to the intensity of the Premier League and he needs to adapt to the demands,” the Brighton manager said.
Hürzeler praised the young players’ performance. “He played very well,” he said. But the ruthlessness with which he was sacked was reminiscent of Carlos Baleva’s comments last week when he offered Sky Sports an insight into his man-management skills.
Fabian Hürzeler urges Kostoulas to get the most out of him
The 32-year-old was adamant about the importance of “honest feedback” on Baleva’s performance after a summer of transfer speculation. Hürzeler has had him sent off at half-time three times this season. “Just receiving praise and applause from the outside won’t make Carlos better,” he said.
Clearly, Hürzeler is pushing Kostoulas as well. And even if it feels uncomfortable, strikers should keep in mind that their teammates appear to be benefiting. Baleva was at his best for Brighton against Arsenal, dominating the midfield in the first half and demonstrating the potential that Hürzeler is trying to tap into.
Player Radar: Other Players to Watch
Dean Heysen is also missing, which is fine for Bournemouth. They have another young talent at centre-back in Veljko Milosavljevic.
The 18-year-old Serbian helped Bournemouth keep a clean sheet in their last game against Nottingham Forest and will be focused on Super Sunday’s clash with Erling Haaland and Manchester City.
Live Radar: What’s on Sky this weekend?
Saturday Night Football will feature Tottenham v Chelsea and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 5pm, ahead of a 5.30pm kick-off.
On Super Sunday, West Ham will host Newcastle in an early kick-off, with Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event coverage beginning at 12:30pm, ahead of the 2pm kick-off, followed by Man City vs. Bournemouth at 4:30pm.
Sunderland host Everton on Monday Night Football. Tune in from 6:30pm before kickoff at 8pm.
Read the last radar column
I discussed the problems with Joao Parinha, Rodrygo Bentancur and Tottenham’s midfield play in last week’s column. We also looked at Bruno Fernandes’ incredible record ahead of his 300th appearance for Manchester United.
