The defensive picture looks healthier at first glance.
Only Arsenal have kept more clean sheets than Newcastle (five) while the league leaders, Manchester City, Chelsea and Leeds United are the only sides to have faced fewer shots (117).
But that does not necessarily tell the full story.
Newcastle have conceded eight goals in just three away matches against Brentford, West Ham and Brighton in recent weeks.
In the three prior away games in the top flight, Newcastle did not ship a single goal, but they are starting to invite more shots.
Brentford and West Ham had 15 apiece while Brighton took 13, and it is far from a coincidence that each of these sides won more duels against a team and a heavyweight midfield that once prided itself on its physicality, intensity and ability to cover ground effectively.
Newcastle have instead looked brittle of late, even when ahead, and they have thrown away more points (nine) from winning positions this season than any other side.
This is a squad, for context, which was reinforced with a £100m-plus net spend last summer.
But there was a fear, internally, that it could be a testing start, that the knock-on effect of a turbulent window could seep into the season.
Four of the five signings Newcastle made were in the final two-and-a-half weeks of the window, with little training time to fully embed them into the system given the relentless nature of the schedule, while Alexander Isak only completed his £125m move to Liverpool on deadline day after going on strike several weeks earlier.
Just as a number of new arrivals are still settling in, Newcastle have clearly missed the energy and creativity of Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento at full-back – the pair have been sidelined through injury of late – and the ability to call upon the pace and instincts of Wissa through the middle.
But whether it is a tweak in system, style or personnel, Howe needs to find answers in the Premier League.
“It’s about showing that we have the experience and the expertise to guide us forward,” he said. “I need to show that.”
