Nick Woltemade responded to his derby day nightmare by playing his best game for Newcastle United yet against Chelsea.
Woltemade’s first half brace put Newcastle United 2-0 up at St James’ Park, putting the own goal he scored against Sunderland behind him.
The German’s goal tally now stands at nine in 23 games during his first season in English football and, if Saturday is anything to go by, he’s still getting better.
If you could go back in time and tell Eddie Howe one thing during his half-time team talk, what would it be?!
Indeed, Newcastle’s club-record signing was brilliant against the Blues, even if he would have been disappointed not to have bagged a hat-trick.
His work off the ball was absolutely excellent and Eddie Howe believes Woltemade just had his best game for Newcastle.
Though the eventual result was disappointing, the striker’s outing was certainly a highlight.
Woltemade is impressing in the immediate term and it seems there is an exciting future, too.
Newcastle United signed Nick Woltemade to change their style of play
That’s because, according to iNews, sources close to the club suggest the German was signed to give Newcastle a new dimension.
Clearly, he is not of the same player profile as the man he replaced in Alexander Isak.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, however.
AGREE OR DISAGREE: Eddie Howe hasn’t had it easy this season, but he should be doing much better
At their best under Eddie Howe, Newcastle have been a pressing machine.
Such are the demands of the fixture schedule, however, playing that way isn’t always possible.
It’s not that Woltemade cannot press, of course, and his performance against the Blues certainly proved that he can be effective at it.
However, the reason the club signed him was to develop their style of play under Howe in general, which perhaps points to a potential shift from pressing to possession.
Nick Woltemade just outclassed a player Newcastle United were desperate to sign
It’s surely well known by now that Woltemade wasn’t Newcastle’s first choice signing this summer.
They first attempted to land all of Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko while trying to keep Isak.
Still, the German is where they landed and things have generally gone well since, even if there have been a few teething problems around him.
While Pedro did score for the Blues in Newcastle’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea, Woltemade largely outperformed him.
He had more touches, more shots and won more duels than the Brazilian on Saturday and, crucially, he scored more goals.
It will be fascinating to see where this Newcastle team goes with Woltemade over the coming seasons.
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