Woltemade has scored six goals for Newcastle United since his £65M move from VfB Stuttgart in August. The young German striker replaced Alexander Isak, who forced his way to Liverpool in the summer and has filled his boots with ease.
Is Woltemade a problem?
However, despite his fine form, five defeats from the opening 11 Premier League games have the Magpies sitting just two points above the relegation zone as many speculate around manager Eddie Howe’s future.
Now, Speaking to Betfair, Shearer has revealed that Woltemade may be an issue under Howe despite his impressive statistics so far.
"I've said before that as good as Nick Woltemade is with the ball at his feet, he is a problem for Newcastle because he's not the quickest, and he can't press, and he doesn't run in behind. Eddie's teams have always done that.
“Look at what Alexander Isak did or look at what Callum Wilson did, they all pressed and ran behind. But this guy can't do that, and that's a problem for Newcastle."
Woltemade has now scored just once in his last six games and despite grabbing an assist against Brentford at the weekend, many are worried that he may not return to form any time soon.
Newcastle lack confidence
Howe admitted that his team lacked confidence at the weekend as pressure grows on the English head coach.
“It was clear, for me, if you watch Newcastle regularly, we were lacking in confidence today.
“There were a lot of technical mistakes, which is really unlike us, especially in the middle of the pitch where we're usually really fluent. That contributed then to putting us under pressure. So I think a different feeling to West Ham, different emotions.
“It's really important today that I support the players and we know we're good players. We know we've got a really good team, but we just need to stay grouped together in this difficult period.”