Woltemade ready to make huge impact at Newcastle after debut goal
The giant striker proved to be the difference againt Wolves on Saturday
Nick Woltemade made an immediate impact on his Newcastle debut at the weekend, scoring the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Wolves at St. James’ Park – and earning the admiration of club legend Alan Shearer.
The 22-year-old striker rose to meet Jacob Murphy’s pinpoint cross with a powerful header, sealing Newcastle’s first Premier League win of the season.
The finish impressed Shearer, the division’s all-time top scorer and famed aerial threat, who posted on X: “What a cross and an even better header.”
Reacting to the message, Woltemade said: “Of course he’s the legend. He scored a lot of goals and of course I’m happy about it.”
He also explained that his aerial ability has been a focus of his development: “I worked a lot on it the last weeks, the last months and the last year. With my height, I guess you have to. You can get more goals if you can have a good header.
“A header always feels good as a striker, especially if you work on it every week, so I was just happy when the ball was going in.”
Woltemade had only completed four training sessions with his new teammates before being handed his debut, but now faces an even greater test: Thursday’s Champions League clash with Barcelona.
The German forward is aware of the history surrounding the fixture, with Faustino Asprilla’s hat-trick famously toppling the Catalans 28 years ago. He is eager to embrace the challenge:
“It’s my first Champions League game at home here at St. James’ Park against Barcelona. I guess it can’t be better, so I’m really looking forward to it.
“I want to score goals, but I guess today was also important that we won the game. Now I want to keep going and try my best every game, and if then the goals come, of course I’m really happy about it.”
Woltemade’s debut was cut short by cramp, but he still left his mark. Reflecting on the step up in competition, he admitted the intensity was higher than he was used to in Germany: “Yes, it’s faster, also the duels are more intense.
“I guess the Premier League is the highest level of intensity, so I keep working on it and have to adapt to this league.”