Nick Woltemade has confirmed he’s feeling much better suited to life in the Premier League after scoring again for Newcastle United on Sunday.
The forward bagged a goal on his Newcastle United debut back in September against Wolves but later admitted he was feeling a cramp before coming off the pitch at St James’ Park.
A few days later, Bruno Guimaraes admitted he’d never seen a player get cramp after only 45 minutes like Woltemade.
That was not a criticism of the striker, more a reflection on the demands on Premier League players, with the division generally seen as the best in world football.
Woltemade was then rested from the start against Barcelona but has since starred from the off for Newcastle in the subsequent Premier League games.
He now has four goals in seven games for the Magpies and, thankfully, is feeling much fitter now.
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Nick Woltemade makes fresh fitness claim after Newcastle United win
The striker was speaking after Newcastle United’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest, during which he scored a brilliant penalty.
He confirmed that he now feels much more up to speed with life in the Premier League, which can only be a positive thing.
With Yoane Wissa injured for Newcastle until at least November, they need Woltemade as physically robust as possible.
“Much better,” he told BBC Radio Newcastle of his fitness.
“I think today was the first game I could play without cramps. For a long time, I had good energy and, yeah, we work on that really well, really hard every week.
“Yeah, we don’t have so many training sessions, that’s why it’s a little bit difficult.”
Eddie Howe impressed by Nick Woltemade’s fitness
Eddie Howe also spoke positively of the physical improvements Woltemade has embarked on following his debut at the club.
That is not an easy thing to do when training time is so limited by the club’s relentless fixture schedule.
Speaking after the Forest clash, the Newcastle United manager agreed with Woltemade’s view of his own fitness: “I think he’s definitely improved. I think there’s more to come. I think today was his best physical look, because I thought he was stronger in the second half, and he was still going strong when he came off the pitch.
“There’s an element of I still want to try and protect him and keep him fit and don’t want to push him too hard where he breaks. But we can get him fitter. Again, we’re probably doing that through the games at the moment rather than any training, or extra training.
“I think there’s a lot more to come.”
Woltemade will now jet off for international duty with Germany. They face what look like winnable World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg and Northern Ireland later this month and the forward will no doubt hope to take his club form onto the international stage.
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