\n<\/p>\n
It is also easy to forget that Woltemade is still only 23.<\/p>\n
He only became a regular starter at Stuttgart in December 2024, before joining Newcastle<\/a> a few months later after the club missed out on, among others, Hugo Ekitike, Joao Pedro and Benjamin Sesko.<\/p>\n He had not played outside his homeland before, and had to quickly adapt to the speed and physicality of the Premier League, as well as a system previously tailored to a rapid striker who led the defensive press from the front and ran in behind, which is not Woltemade’s game.<\/p>\n The Bundesliga is fierce in its own right, but it is rather telling that Woltemade has only been awarded four fouls in his last 11 top-flight fixtures.<\/p>\n Premier League analysts and defenders now have had a greater body of work to study in order to try to limit his influence in this Newcastle<\/a> side compared to earlier in the campaign.<\/p>\n There have been times where Woltemade has not been in the box – lacking those instincts a traditional poacher has – and other occasions where he has looked isolated up front and not had enough runners near him, which is down to the way Newcastle<\/a> have been set up.<\/p>\n No wonder, then, Woltemade is only averaging 1.9 shots per game in the league this season.<\/p>\n Woltemade failed to even hit the target with a couple of headers from his most recent chances in front of goal, against Wolves<\/a> last month, but service has also clearly been an issue for a player who thrives off balls to feet.<\/p>\n Although Newcastle<\/a> lead the way for crosses in the Premier League (637), only eight top-flight sides have a worse crossing accuracy (21.5%).<\/p>\n Also, rather than being a traditional target man who plays with his back to goal, the technical Woltemade looks most comfortable operating in the spaces between the midfield and the box.<\/p>\n It was from these areas that at Stuttgart he often showcased a unique ability – for someone so tall to dribble past defenders and link up with those around him.<\/p>\n Howe fielded Woltemade in such a role behind Wissa in a 4-2-3-1 against Bournemouth<\/a> last month and revisited the experiment as Newcastle<\/a> attempted to get back into the game in the second half versus Brentford<\/a> at the weekend.<\/p>\n But the head coach readily admitted his attack has “not quite functioned fully yet” as he attempts to bed his summer signings “into the team format”.<\/p>\n “Nick has done everything with such a great attitude,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing, for me, that means he will continue to be successful.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n