Newcastle United star Nick Woltemade left quite the impression on the Belgian media on Wednesday night.
Woltemade was brilliant for Newcastle United as they beat Union Saint-Gilloise 4-0 in the Champions League to get their campaign up and running.
The German international scored the first goal in Newcastle’s 4-0 win over USG, a clever flick which initially looked like a lucky deflection.
Newcastle United’s club-record signing was in fine form in Brussels, dropping deep to allow the likes of Anthony Elanga and Anthony Gordon to roam forward.
It was arguably his best performance yet, despite the fact he’s already scored two Premier League goals since his big money move from Stuttgart.
Indeed, a Belgian media outlet was very impressed.
- Who is Nick Woltemade? The ‘two-metre Messi-Musiala’ Newcastle United broke transfer record to sign
Belgian media hail Nick Woltemade after Newcastle beat USG
Prominent Belgian publication HLN were full of praise for Woltemade.
They suggested that there are not many players like him in the Belgian league, while also claiming he went some way to justifying his price tag.
So much has been made about the money Newcastle spent to sign Woltemade but, right now, he’s proving well worth it.
“The German showed why Newcastle paid nearly €70million for him,” they wrote.
“Strong in a duel, good on the ball, and with a crafty backheel, he made it 0-1 and was involved in the penalty just before it was 0-3. There aren’t two like him in Belgium.”
Eddie Howe delivers fresh Nick Woltemade verdict after Newcastle beat USG
Eddie Howe was very impressed with Woltemade, who continues to shine all while his team are adapting to playing around him.
Newcastle insiders have been thrilled by Woltemade and it’s easy to see why.
The longer he works under the Newcastle United manager, it’s reasonable to assume he will develop even further.
Alexander Isak wasn’t the finished article when he arrived at St James’ Park but went on to become perhaps the world’s best forward last season, partly because of Howe’s coaching work.
Speaking after the game, Howe said: “I thought he performed really well today.
“I think, as always with Nick, I’m learning about his game all the time like the players are because we’ve had very little training time.
“You can see his link-up play is such a big part of what he does. I think he was excellent today.”
Woltemade surely has to start when Newcastle host Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Sunday.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
