Newcastle's night drills signal rebuild as Howe chases goals after Isak exit

Newcastle United intensified their search for goals, staging a late-night attacking session after 10:30 p.m. at St James’ Park as they recalibrate following Alexander Isak’s departure. Sandro Tonali, club-record signing Nick Woltemade, along with Kieran Trippier, Tino Livramento and Harvey Barnes, joined coach Graeme Jones for an attack-versus-defence drill that took place near the Gallowgate End with the goal on the edge of the box. The session underscored how urgently Eddie Howe’s side are trying to extract goals from a squad reoriented around a new core and a need to spread scoring responsibilities beyond any single player.

In the absence of Isak and with his replacements still finding their feet or sidelined by injury, Howe has issued a call to arms for the squad to share the load. The numbers support a frank assessment: after five Premier League games, Newcastle average just 2.6 shots on target per match, down from 4.58 last season. Only Aston Villa have fewer than their three goals, and their shots-to-xG ratio indicates efficiency ahead of their finishing has not matched the quality of chances created. The team has underperformed its expected goals by about two goals, highlighting opportunities missed rather than a lack of chances created. The coaching staff have therefore focused on practical improvements in the penalty area, treating the training ground as a proving ground for new approaches to goal scoring.

Howe has stressed that Woltemade is not a No 10 by default and that the club’s forward line is being adaptively reshaped to fit a system that still prizes front-foot play. The 23-year-old German forward’s skill set could lend itself to multiple roles, but the plan is to develop him as a key goal threat and, if required, a natural No 9. With Isak’s exit and replacements such as Woltemade and Yoane Wissa needing time to adapt or recover from injury, Newcastle face a genuine rebuild rather than a simple retooling. Howe has been clear that the task is about increasing efficiency in front of goal while maintaining the intensity that defined the team in recent years. The manager has also signalled that the side must evolve tactically while not abandoning the principles that have made them difficult to play against in the past.

There is a broader shift under way as well. The four winger options—Anthony Gordon, Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy and Anthony Elanga—offer pace and depth, but Howe cautions that statistics alone do not tell the full story. Elanga, in particular, has yet to register a goal or an assist in Newcastle colors, but the head coach has defended his impact, noting that the winger’s work rate and chances created can be as valuable as direct scoring metrics when teammates finish opportunities. The emphasis remains on creating a more varied threat rather than relying on a single converter of chances.

The club’s forward plan is also anchored by the reintroduction of other academy and squad players into attacking scenarios following the Isak era. The team will lean on Joelinton to fulfill his original remit as a goal threat, with Bruno Guimarães charged with turning missed chances into finished opportunities. Tonali’s role is pivotal: if the Italian can translate chances into goals, it will accelerate Newcastle’s evolution from a high-pressing, table-top team to a consistently productive one at the top end of the pitch.

In midweek, the early signs of progress were tangible. Newcastle’s 4-1 Carabao Cup win over Bradford City saw Joelinton score twice and Guimarães set up two more, a performance that provided a confidence boost as the club balanced work on finishing with the need to maintain a compact defensive structure. Howe greeted the result as a meaningful step forward, while acknowledging there is still a long way to go before the attack is firing on all cylinders.

The mood within the dressing room appeared buoyant, with the squad drawing energy from a chart-topping night on the training ground and the sense that the long-term plan was finally taking shape. The locker-room soundtrack even reflected the relief of productive work, with Change This Pain for Ecstasy by Rex The Dog echoing as players regrouped for the next phase of the season. The club’s next test comes against Arsenal, a fixture that has often served as a barometer for Newcastle’s development. In recent years, the head-to-head has highlighted how far Howe’s project has come, and the upcoming match promises to be another marker of whether the post-Isak framework is beginning to yield tangible results.

From a longer-term perspective, the challenge for Howe remains clear. The ownership group and coaching staff must ensure the attacking unit remains balanced and capable of sustaining pressure across 90 minutes, even when the opposition shifts its focus away from a single central threat. The plan is to keep building on correctness of positioning, decision-making in the final third, and the willingness to shoot when opportunities arise. The night drills, the late-season-like intensity, and the ongoing experimentation with formations and roles signal that Newcastle is treating this season as a necessary step in a broader, multi-year project to reestablish themselves among Europe’s elite while remaining competitive in the Premier League. If Tonali can translate the breakthrough moments into consistent finishes, the club’s ambition to compete at the top of English football could begin to translate into results that match the promise of their rebuild.

In the immediate term, Howe will be judged by the balance between evolving attacking options and maintaining the defensive solidity that has underpinned much of Newcastle’s recent success. The next weeks will determine whether this new-look forward line can deliver the goals that have so far proved elusive, and whether the late-night grind on the training ground will convert into practical gains on match day.