By Sam McGuire
It left the Magpies with a fairly free run at Nick Woltemade.
As the summer transfer window was coming to a close, Newcastle made their move and signed the giant German for an initial £65million fee. At the time, the move raised a few eyebrows. It was an awful lot of money for a player with just one good Bundesliga season to his name. And it wasn’t even an exceptional campaign either, with the Germany international scoring 12 league goals for VfB Stuttgart during his debut season with the club.
Woltemade’s player traits comparison against strikers in Big Five leagues
The 23-year-old was expected to join Bayern Munich at some point. That, combined with his questionable goalscoring record, seemingly put clubs off during a transfer window that many strikers moved in.
It must feel like deja vu for Newcastle fans though. A few years ago, the club paid a reported £63million for Alexander Isak. At the time, he’d been linked with a host of clubs but the fee coupled with his inconsistent scoring record seemed to deter the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool.
The Magpies took the plunge and were rewarded for it. The Swede scored 54 Premier League goals in 86 outings prior to his move to Liverpool for a British record fee.
Newcastle are, once again, being rewarded for showing faith in a raw, young forward that many felt they’d overpaid for.
As we enter December, Woltemade has five Premier League goals to his name. Only five players have more goals than he does – Antoine Semenyo (six), Jean Philippe-Mateta (seven), Danny Welbeck (seven), Igor Thiago (11) and Erling Haaland (14). Interestingly, none of those five players are new to the English top-flight. He’s the one big money summer signing who appears to have adapted quickly.
Woltemade’s shooting stats, Premier League games only
The 23-year-old has filled the void left by Isak as the main man in attack for Newcastle. It comes as no coincidence that their upturn in form coincides with Eddie Howe figuring out how exactly to get his new No. 27 a lot more involved.
As detailed in a piece last month, a misfiring attack has threatened to derail their campaign. The proposed solution at the time; Howe needs to build around the one-time Bayern Munich transfer target.
That is exactly what has happened over recent weeks. In Newcastle’s win over Manchester City, only Haaland (five) had more shots than Woltemade (four). The Germany international didn’t score in the game but he worked Gigi Donnarumma on two occasions. One was a towering header that the keeper did well to get down to. The other was a curled effort that really put the Italy shot-stopper to work. On another day, with a bit more luck, he finishes with two goals.
He was a handful in the 4-1 win against Everton too. He played a part in the opener, sort of. He was heavily involved in the build-up to an Anthony Elanga effort. It was saved but the Magpies scored from the resulting corner. He added their third with a calm and composed finish, deftly lobbing Jordan Pickford. It was a finish that screamed confidence. He had a hand in the fourth goal as well after showing great feet to free up space in the box before his effort was blocked on the line.
Manager Howe even namechecked the summer signing in his post-match interview with Sky Sports, saying: “Nick [Woltemade] took his goal well, which was good for him to be back on the scoresheet, and we could have got more.”
Prior to the game against City, Woltemade had a shots per 90 average of 1.9 in the league. He’s averaged three in each of his last two games and his xG in these games has been 0.61 and 0.59 respectively.
Woltemade is only going to get better too. He said as much in his post-match interview following the win over the Toffees: “I think I can improve my game but I have scored goals, which is the most important thing for a striker. To get a good feeling at a new club, especially in a new league, I am really happy about it.”
Woltemade’s shot map, Premier League games only
Howe hasn’t reinvented the wheel here but he’s found out a way to get his big money striker much more involved in the final third and we’re already seeing the results.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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