Good feet for a big man? Why Woltemade is no 'tall camel'

It felt a agelong measurement from nan Premier League.

Nick Woltemade was connected indebtedness astatine Elversberg erstwhile nan guardant lined up against Rot-Weiss Essen successful nan 3rd tier of German shot successful 2023.

He whitethorn person been an unmissable 6ft 6in (1.98m), but he was not a family sanction conscionable yet.

However, team-mate Luca Durholtz knew what Newcastle United's early grounds signing could do.

"One of Rot-Weiss Essen's unit members said to maine 'that gangly camel isn't a player, is he?'

"I said, 'just hold and spot really he plays, my friend'.

"We won and Nick scored."

Woltemade has go utilized to proving group wrong.

It was conscionable past period that Bayern Munich supervisory committee personnel and nine fable Karl-Heinz Rummenigge claimed Newcastle were "idiots" for paying £69m to motion him from Stuttgart.

But Woltemade is understood to person simply shrugged disconnected nan remark.

Rather than commenting directly, he has alternatively fto his performances do nan talking.

And nan German, who was taxable of aggregate grounded bids from Bayern past summer, has made a beardown commencement to his profession connected Tyneside, scoring 4 goals successful his first 5 starts.

So what makes nan 23-year-old specified a unsocial talent?

The towering Woltemade looks for illustration a emblematic battering ram.

The guardant has scored half of his goals for Newcastle pinch his caput and he moreover opened his relationship for Germany aft getting connected nan extremity of a area against Northern Ireland connected Monday.

But appearances tin beryllium deceptive.

Woltemade's team-mates astatine Newcastle person quickly realised they tin springiness nan frontman nan shot and he tin support clasp of it nether pressure, wriggle distant from his marker aliases play a walk that brings others into nan game.

According to shot stats database FBref, he has received 108 passes for Newcastle - which illustrates nan spot of those astir him, arsenic good arsenic his expertise to clasp connected to possession.

The method guardant besides boasts 1 of nan apical 5 walk completion percentages (82.6%) astatine nan club.

As good arsenic being a focal point, Woltemade tin driblet heavy and nexus play, feeding accelerated wingers specified arsenic Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga, and nan mostly (71) of his 132 touches person been successful nan mediate 3rd of nan transportation alternatively than nan last third.

Former team-mate Durholtz said "this striker floor plan doesn't really exist" elsewhere while friend Jorik Wulff, similarly, added "most teams do not person a subordinate type for illustration him" aft rising done nan ranks pinch Woltemade astatine Werder Bremen.

"He doesn't move for illustration a striker who's 2 metres tall," Wulff said. "He wants nan shot astatine his feet and tries to dribble and spell past defenders, truthful he's not nan emblematic subordinate you expect erstwhile you spot him.

"Because he's truthful tall, astir defenders deliberation he's conscionable beardown successful nan air, but his method expertise is very bully for a subordinate of his size. That makes him special."

Those qualities surely caught nan oculus of Eddie Howe.

The Newcastle caput coach first watched Woltemade play for Stuttgart successful nan Bundesliga past season, earlier monitoring nan German's advancement arsenic he won nan Golden Boot astatine nan European Under-21 Championship.

After seeing targets Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko spell elsewhere, Newcastle made their move for Woltemade successful August - conscionable a fewer days earlier striker Alexander Isak near nan nine to subordinate Liverpool.

Each twist of his projected move to Bayern Munich played retired successful public, but this transportation softly progressed.

Woltemade's campy did not needfully person an extended knowledge of Newcastle astatine nan time, but they sewage a bully emotion from nan first interaction and nan personable quality of nan approach.

They could show Newcastle had a clear thought of really to usage Woltemade and were moreover pleasantly amazed really nan coaching unit were unfastened to evolving their style of play to get nan champion retired of him.

He had only been astatine Stuttgart a year, and had family nearby, but felt he had to prehend nan infinitesimal to spell to nan adjacent level.

There is discourse here.

Woltemade became nan youngest subordinate to ever correspond Werder Bremen successful nan Bundesliga, astatine nan property of conscionable 17, but his profession did not precisely return disconnected astatine that point, starring to a indebtedness to Elversberg nether head Horst Steffen 2 and a half years later.

"Nick has stayed existent to himself, tried to activity connected himself and improved," Steffen said. "He regularly took advantage of his opportunities erstwhile he sewage playing time, particularly successful Stuttgart. This made it clear really bully he is.

"He had a coach location [Sebastian Hoeness] who fto him play. These are assumptions, but he has retained his assurance successful himself and successful life, and he shows that connected nan pitch."

Such belief has served Woltemade good aft he was thrown consecutive successful astatine Newcastle.

Newcastle had intended to easiness nan caller presence successful astatine first, and activity connected his fittingness successful betwixt games to hole him for nan physicality of nan English game.

But guardant Yoane Wissa's knee wounded disrupted those plans and Woltemade has ended up starting 5 of nan 7 matches he has played for nan club.

He deed nan crushed running, but it has still been an adjustment.

Though nan Bundesliga is an aggravated convention successful its ain right, nan Premier League is peculiarly speedy and Woltemade has besides travel up against beardown defenders.

He has already scored much headers for Newcastle than he did astatine Stuttgart successful nan full of past season, but nan gangly guardant has won conscionable 27.8% of his aerial duels successful nan apical flight.

Just arsenic Newcastle are adapting to Woltemade's strengths, nan caller presence is besides adjusting to a demanding domiciled - having travel disconnected pinch cramp connected his goalscoring debut against Wolves.

There has been a greater accent connected getting into nan container and being successful nan correct spot astatine nan correct time, arsenic he was erstwhile he diverted Sandro Tonali's changeable into nan nett pinch a clever flick against Union Saint-Gilloise successful nan Champions League earlier this month.

But his willingness to study and thief nan squad has impressed staff, on pinch his mentality.

Howe had a gut emotion that Woltemade could grip nan unit of playing successful nan number 9 position for Newcastle erstwhile he first said to him, and his caput did not driblet pursuing 2 misses against Nottingham Forest earlier this month.

He alternatively grabbed nan ball, aft his broadside were awarded a penalty, and powered location a convincing spot-kick successful beforehand of nan Gallowgate End.

"We expected a batch from him and we signed him because we judge successful him," Howe said. "We judge that he tin make nan modulation from different league, but it's still truthful difficult to do pinch nary training and aft being thrust consecutive in.

"He hardly knew his team-mates' names and he's playing. Then you're judged instantly connected whether you're going to beryllium a occurrence aliases failure. That's tough.

"But he's made specified a affirmative belief astir nan training ground, and pinch his interactions pinch unit and players, and he's delivered connected nan pitch. Under large pressure, he's done very well."