{"id":186013,"date":"2025-08-30T01:10:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T01:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/186013\/"},"modified":"2025-08-30T01:10:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T01:10:12","slug":"newcastles-coup-silky-giant-nick-woltemade-is-a-reminder-to-not-judge-a-book-by-its-cover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/186013\/","title":{"rendered":"Newcastle’s Coup: Silky Giant Nick Woltemade Is a Reminder to Not Judge a Book by Its Cover"},"content":{"rendered":"

Newcastle are closing
\nin on a deal to sign Nick
\nWoltemade<\/a> from Stuttgart. Coveted by Bayern Munich, the Germany
\ninternational\u2019s arrival would be a hugely exciting
\naddition.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Persistence and patience were key on Nick Woltemade\u2019s somewhat
\nsurprisingly long road from promising youngster to Bundesliga<\/a>
\nstar, and soon, \u00a375 million Newcastle
\nUnited<\/a> signing.<\/p>\n

Suggesting he had to be patient may seem slightly sensationalist
\ngiven Woltemade was \u2013 at the time \u2013 Werder
\nBremen<\/a>\u2019s youngest ever player (17 years, 352 days) in the
\nBundesliga when starting a February 2020 defeat to Augsburg, but
\nany hopes of a rapid ascent were continually dashed.<\/p>\n

That was his only league start of 2019-20, and just one more
\nfollowed in the next campaign, which proved something of a
\nnightmare for Woltemade. A virus \u201cset him back somewhat\u201d according
\nto sporting director Frank Baumann, as the youngster missed
\nWerder\u2019s first six games of 2021. It took him another six weeks or
\nso get anywhere close to a return to fitness, when he suffered a
\nknee ligament injury in training.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t play again in 2020-21 and Werder were ultimately
\nrelegated for the first time since 1980. While a season in the
\nsecond tier might have been seen as an opportunity for a young
\nplayer to establish himself, Woltemade also hardly got a look-in
\nduring 2022-23.<\/p>\n

After playing a grand total of 25 minutes across the opening
\nseven matchdays, appearing only twice, the teenager suffered a foot
\ninjury that ruled him out for nearly five months. But even then,
\nwhile available for the rest of the campaign, his five outings
\namounted to a measly 19 minutes on the pitch.<\/p>\n

\"Nick<\/p>\n

A subsequent loan move to the third tier of German football
\nmight have been perceived as Woltemade\u2019s potential slipping away,
\nbut it proved a crucial step.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, he was playing football, and consistent
\nminutes provided Woltemade the opportunity to showcase his rather
\nunique skillset and style of play at Elversberg. While 10 goals
\nfrom 31 league games won\u2019t qualify as prolific, he also recorded
\nnine assists, an early sign \u2013 for the uninitiated \u2013 that he was no
\nordinary number nine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was actually really unlucky; if you look at our games, I
\ncould have had more assists,\u201d he insisted during an interview with
\nWerder\u2019s official website in March 2023.<\/p>\n

That throwaway comment is quite illustrative of the type of
\ncentre-forward Newcastle are signing in Woltemade. Don\u2019t expect him
\nto just wait around in the box for high balls that allow him an
\nendless stream of headed chances; no, although a giant of a man,
\nhe\u2019s probably one of the most technically gifted forwards in
\nEurope, and being able to exploit that when carrying the ball and
\nlinking with teammates has been more important to his style than
\nhis size or any desire to be a goal poacher.<\/p>\n

For instance, after returning to Bremen from Elversberg,
\nWoltemade went on to make 30 Bundesliga appearances in the 2023-24
\ncampaign, yielding just two goals (and they came in the same
\nmatch).<\/p>\n

Granted, he played several different roles in attack and the
\nmajority of his minutes in the first half of 2023-24 were from the
\nbench, but he still netted fewer goals than six of his teammates.
\nThe fact is, isolating him up front and just expecting him to be a
\ngoal threat would\u2019ve robbed Werder of Woltemade\u2019s greatest
\ntalents.<\/p>\n

\"Nick<\/p>\n

Despite having to bide his time, in his second start of 2023-24,
\nWoltemade made a real impression on a grand stage. It was January
\n2024 and just his second top-flight outing as a starter since
\nOctober 2020, and he was filling in up top for the suspended Marvin
\nDucksch at the Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich.<\/p>\n

Within a few minutes he was dribbling his way past two Bayern
\nplayers and out of danger on the edge of his own box; then there
\nwas a delicate flick through Matthijs de Ligt\u2019s legs to help spring
\na counterattack; soon after he was skilfully sidestepping a couple
\nof opponents before playing a long ball over the top that almost
\nled to a goal-scoring opportunity; he forced a vital intervention
\nfrom Dayot Upamecano when breaking into the box; his clever
\nbackheel in the area yielded a deflected Mitchell Weiser effort
\nthat nearly found the top-left corner. And all of that was just
\ninside the first 24 minutes.<\/p>\n

Bayern struggled to keep a lid on Woltemade because he kept
\ndropping into deeper positions looking for the ball and then had
\nthe technical quality to retain possession even under pressure,
\nusing it smartly more often than not as others ran beyond him. His
\ninfluence waned once Werder went ahead in the second half and he
\nwas withdrawn, but it was a performance that earned him praise. Not
\nthat his qualities surprised anyone at Werder.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe weren\u2019t scratching our eyes, because we know what Nick can
\ndo,\u201d head coach Ole Werner said afterwards.<\/p>\n

Club director, Clemens Fritz, added: \u201cNick is simply unpleasant
\nto play against, because he always has the ball at his feet. He
\nkept the ball under control and played it into space well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having started just one Bundesliga game beforehand that season,
\nWoltemade went on to be named in the first XI 10 times in their
\nfollowing 16 matches, including each of the last six of the
\ncampaign. Werder were unable to keep hold of Woltemade, however, as
\nthe 21-year-old opted against signing a new contract and instead
\njoined Stuttgart<\/a>,
\nwhere his game reached a new level entirely to earn him his first
\ninternational call-up and attract serious interest from Bayern.<\/p>\n

But once again, patience was needed. Woltemade didn\u2019t start a
\nBundesliga game at all for Stuttgart until 23 November, and he also
\nwasn\u2019t registered in their Champions
\nLeague<\/a> squad. He had to make do with the minutes he could get
\nin the league and a couple of appearances in the DFB-Pokal.<\/p>\n

\"Nick<\/p>\n

A goal in each of his first two cup games \u2013 as well as one off
\nthe bench in the league against Eintracht Frankfurt \u2013 hinted he was
\nprimed to step up when given the chance, and in early December, he
\ntook full advantage.<\/p>\n

Stuttgart found themselves 2-0 down at home to Union Berlin
\nshortly after Woltemade\u2019s half-time introduction, but he scored two
\nexcellent goals in eight minutes to turn the game around. First, he
\npounced on a deflected pass and skipped past the goalkeeper after a
\nfeint to slam home; then, he expertly controlled an incisive ball
\nfrom midfield and broke into the box, losing his marker and cutely
\nnudging his finish beyond the keeper into the bottom-right
\ncorner.<\/p>\n

From then until the end of the season, 17 of Woltemade\u2019s next 21
\nBundesliga appearances were as a starter, and he quickly became a
\nkey figure. Sure, he carried goal threat, but his general play and
\nthe positions he took up meant he stood out \u2013 though that was also
\nhelped by the fact he\u2019s nearly two metres tall.<\/p>\n

\"Stuttgart<\/p>\n

Make no mistake, there can be something jarring about
\nWoltemade\u2019s style of play. Or perhaps that should be surprising?
\nThe thing is \u2013 and forgive us for potentially veering into \u2018good
\ntouch for a big man\u2019 territory here \u2013 players of Woltemade\u2019s build
\nare unusual enough. When you then add in nimble footwork, silky
\nskill and a deceptive turn of pace, it can catch you off guard.<\/p>\n

The key point here is, Woltemade isn\u2019t quite your conventional
\ntarget man. Obviously, his height does give him an advantage in
\nsome situations, and his 114 aerial duels contested last term saw
\nhim rank 13th among Bundesliga forwards. But of the 18 forwards who
\ntallied at least 100 aerials in 2024-25, 11 bettered his success
\nrate (44.7%). He has improved aerially, for sure, but there\u2019s far
\nmore to him than simply being very, very tall.<\/p>\n

As alluded to already, Woltemade is subtle \u2013 graceful, even.
\nHappiest with the ball at his feet, he ranked sixth among nominal
\ncentre-forwards in the Bundesliga last term for dribble attempts
\n(73), though his 1,620 minutes played was fewer than all of those
\nabove him.<\/p>\n

Not unrelated to that, his 9.8 ball carries \u2013 movements of at
\nleast five metres in possession \u2013 per 90 was the sixth most among
\ncentre-forwards (900+ mins) in the Bundesliga last season. While
\nthat is a strength of his generally, and aided by his close
\ncontrol, it also manifested in decisive situations.<\/p>\n

After all, his four goal-ending carries was bettered only by
\nJamal Musiala and Omar Marmoush (5 each) across the entire league
\nin 2024-25. That those four came from just seven shot-ending
\ncarries reflects very well on his maturity and decision making.<\/p>\n

\"Nick<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth noting that only 10 players \u2013 just two of whom
\ncould be considered centre-forwards \u2013 bettered his 13
\nchance-creating carries. And that being almost double his
\nshot-ending carries tally also speaks to a certain on-pitch
\nlevel-headedness.<\/p>\n

Essentially, the creative side of the game is probably where
\nWoltemade\u2019s qualities shine most.<\/p>\n

For starters, among nominal centre-forwards in the Bundesliga
\nlast term (900+ mins), Woltemade comfortably led the way for
\nopen-play chances created per 90 with 1.9. It wasn\u2019t just a case of
\nhim playing short passes to teammates who\u2019d have a go from range
\neither; no, he brought genuine creative ingenuity to Stuttgart.<\/p>\n

\"Nick<\/p>\n

His 0.25 expected goals (xG) assisted per 90 was the same as the
\nwidely lauded Florian Wirtz and bettered by just six players in the
\nwhole division. Woltemade\u2019s vision in the final third has long been
\npraised as one of his greatest assets, and this is a pretty
\neffective way of quantifying that.<\/p>\n

But just because some of Woltemade\u2019s most notable strengths
\nrevolve around dropping into deeper positions, linking the play
\ntogether and being a creative force, it doesn\u2019t mean he isn\u2019t also
\nuseful in the box.<\/p>\n

While his goals record prior to joining Stuttgart was hardly
\nexceptional, we must remember he frequently played roles that
\nrequired him to be something other than just a fox in the box, and
\nfirst-team football was often difficult to come by. He took on a
\nmore focal point last term and that was reflected in his improved
\nrecord in front of goal, which was arguably better than it
\nlooked.<\/p>\n

Twelve Bundesliga goals might appear modest, but those were
\nnetted at a rate of one every 135 minutes; only three players aged
\n23 or under last term bettered that across the top five European
\nleagues.<\/p>\n

Similarly, his record of 2.6 non-penalty shots per 90 was a
\nhighly respectable figure for a player who also carried
\nconsiderable creative responsibility.<\/p>\n

\"Nick<\/p>\n

And on that note, it\u2019s important to observe where those shots
\nhave been taken from; all but one of his 46 non-pen attempts came
\nfrom inside the area, which again is a positive sign for a player
\nwho likes to drop deep and get involved in the build-up.<\/p>\n

Similarly, his 9.4 touches in the opposition\u2019s box per 90 since
\nthe start of last season is the third most in the top five leagues
\n(1,700+ mins). It all suggests he does a good job of balancing
\nthese responsibilities.<\/p>\n

\"Nick<\/p>\n

Furthermore, Woltemade ranked fourth among Bundesliga
\ncentre-forwards (900+ mins) for proportion (17.8%) of off-ball runs
\ninto the area that made him available for a cross while a teammate
\nhad possession in a wide area, evidence of him being proactive in
\nattack even when not in possession himself.<\/p>\n

And when chances did fall to him, Woltemade was reliable. His 10
\nnon-penalty goals came from 8.0 non-pen xG and he boasted a shot
\nconversion rate of 24.5%, the fourth best among Bundesliga players
\nto attempt at least 40 shots in 2024-25.<\/p>\n

In short, Woltemade was one of the most rounded centre-forwards
\nin Europe last term, with it no wonder Bayern pushed hard to sign
\nhim earlier in the window. He was one of just six such players from
\nthe top five leagues (900+ minutes) to average at least 2.0 shots
\n(2.7), 0.3 non-pen xG (0.44), 7.0 touches in the opposition\u2019s box
\n(9.8) and 1.0 open-play chances created (1.9) on a per-90
\nbasis.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s undoubtedly been a frustrating transfer window for
\nNewcastle, but pulling a deal for Woltemade out of the hat with the
\ndeadline closing in would be an impressive way to ease the malaise
\nat St James\u2019 Park.<\/p>\n

From a neutral\u2019s perspective, the hope is we get to see
\nWoltemade linking up with Alexander Isak, because what a prospect
\nthat could be.<\/p>\n

But even if the Germany international ultimately proves to be
\nIsak\u2019s replacement, Woltemade\u2019s arrival should be considered an
\nexciting coup.<\/p>\n


\n\"Premier<\/a><\/p>\n

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