When a football club breaks its transfer record to sign a new player, there is always a huge amount of excitement and scrutiny.
Every pass, every touch, and every decision is analyzed by fans and experts eager to see if the player is worth the investment.
For Newcastle United, that player is Nick Woltemade. The German forward arrived from Stuttgart for a fee of £65 million, immediately becoming the most expensive signing in the club’s history.
His arrival was part of a major reshuffle of the attacking lineup, which also saw the departure of star striker Alexander Isak and the arrival of Yoane Wissa from Brentford.
But when Wissa suffered an injury almost immediately, the spotlight on Woltemade became even brighter, putting pressure on him to deliver from the very start.
So far, the early signs have been promising. Woltemade scored a goal on his debut against Wolves, which is the perfect way to endear yourself to a new set of fans.
He has also come off the bench in other matches and shown flashes of the technical ability that made Newcastle want to sign him.
However, his style of play is different from what supporters might be used to seeing from a traditional Newcastle number nine.
Instead of always staying high up the pitch and making runs behind the defense, Woltemade has a tendency to drop deeper into midfield to get involved in the build-up play.
This has led to some questions about his best position and whether he is a natural goal-scoring striker or more of a creative player.
Manager Eddie Howe has been very clear in his response to these questions. He has firmly stated that he sees Woltemade as a number nine, a central striker.
But Howe was also quick to point out that not all strikers are the same. He explained that you cannot compare Woltemade to a previous striker like Callum Wilson because they have completely different styles.
The key, according to Howe, is not to force Woltemade into a mold that doesn’t fit him, but to understand his unique strengths and use them to help the team.
Howe praised the player’s “creative flair and link play,” highlighting his technical skill and his ability to operate in tight spaces, which is unusual for a player of his size.
The manager acknowledged that integrating a player with a unique profile takes time and work on the training ground.
He revealed that the busy schedule has actually limited the amount of time they have had to work with Woltemade properly in practice. It has been a case of play a game, recover, and then play another game.
Despite this, Howe is very encouraged by what he has seen. He believes that once the team fully understands Woltemade’s instincts and movements, they can build effective patterns of play around him.
The goal is to utilize his creativity to make chances for others while also putting him in positions where he can score goals himself.
A statistic that has caused some concern is the number of shots Woltemade has taken. In his four appearances for the club, he has only managed three shots in total.
For a main striker, that is a very low number. However, there is a positive side to this stat: his conversion rate is one hundred percent so far. His only shot on target resulted in a goal.
This shows that when he does get a chance, he is clinical. Eddie Howe addressed this directly, stating that the main focus with Woltemade will be to ensure he gets into more goal-scoring areas.
While his work in deeper positions is valuable, the team needs him to be in the penalty box when the ball is delivered, ready to finish moves like he did against Wolves.
Howe pointed to that Wolves goal as the “prototype” for what he wants from Woltemade. The movement to find space in the box and the quality of the header were exactly what a top striker should produce.
The challenge now is to make that kind of contribution a more regular occurrence. The upcoming match against Arsenal is another big opportunity for Woltemade to lead the line and continue his adaptation to the Premier League.
For Eddie Howe, the project is clear: to blend Woltemade’s natural, creative instincts with the disciplined positioning of a classic number nine.
It is a process that will require patience, but the early evidence suggests that Newcastle has signed a uniquely talented player who, with the right guidance, can become a huge success.
