Who Is the Six-Foot-Six Striker Newcastle Have Bet on?
While Newcastle bumbled through the summer window, letting talisman Alexander Isak leave for Liverpool on deadline day and missing out on their top replacements, the decision to sign Nick Woltemade has left many Geordies optimistic for the future. Woltemade fits the profile of a modern number nine, standing at a massive six-foot-six while possessing a light touch and preferring the ball played into his feet. His debut winner against Wolves was more of what you would picture from a typical target man: a classic back-post header. However, most of his work at St. James’ Park was done in areas that didn’t appear on the match highlight reel: sneaking into pockets, playing with his back to goal, linking up with teammates, and slipping into the channels. This is the bet Newcastle has made, replacing Isak—not with a like-for-like runner, but a more team-focused connector who should help Newcastle play through traffic and bring others into the game alongside him.
Woltemade’s path here has been unusual. He first broke out at SV Elversberg in the German third tier, returned to Werder Bremen, and then truly burst onto the scene at Stuttgart. Last season’s jump was significant: a DFB-Pokal win, plus double-digit goals with meaningful on-ball build-up play. Woltemade was constantly dropping short to overload the midfield, setting his massive frame to receive and hold up under contact, and then linking play with simple passes before spinning to arrive late in the box. He is more agile than his height would suggest, comfortable turning in tight spaces for a tall forward, and he dribbles with enough balance to make me confident in his game translating to the Premier League. That said, his aerial game, despite the height, is surprisingly not one of his greatest strengths. He has the reach and the consistent central arrivals into the box, but fans often speak to his poor timing when the wide service is there.
Woltemade’s first week on Tyneside has already hinted at the fit. Eddie Howe tweaked the team’s rhythm to feed him early and trust his ability to connect: he sprung Joelinton on overlaps, sent a chipped pass through to Harvey Barnes into space, and found Jacob Murphy’s trademark early cross at the back post. For now, the primary drawback to his play is his fitness: the Premier League’s intensity had him cramping around the hour mark, and a player who thrives on feet will need repetitions to sync with his teammates. His struggles in his second game against Bournemouth support that much. Yet, what is important is that his mentality and the context around his move seem right; he is fluent in English, unbothered by price-tag noise, and surrounded by a close friend or two who moved to England with him.
In the short term, Woltemade should not be expected to explode into a 20-30 goal-a-season striker. Rather, he gives Howe a different out-ball and a way to stabilize possession higher up the pitch. He can shift games in Newcastle’s favor by occupying centre-backs and offering a clean first touch under pressure that would only serve to help quick wide-players like Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga get on the ball. His ceiling depends on two main improvements: sharper timing in the air to match his physical talent and a few more consequential sprints beyond the line to genuinely threaten depth when teams squeeze up. If he can evolve those aspects of his game, Newcastle will have something truly rare: a modern, link-play number nine who looks like a target man and plays like a facilitator.
