Why are things suddenly not working out for Nick Woltemade at Newcastle – and is that even true? In an interview, the striker explains what has really happened in recent months.
For about half an hour on Monday evening, Nick Woltemade turned back time. Not only did he play in Stuttgart again, he also played with Deniz Undav. “I’ve rarely had a player with whom I felt so comfortable on the pitch,” enthused Woltemade in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung. “We still know exactly what the other one is up to and where he’s about to go.”
In the end, Undav scored the 2:1 winning goal in the international friendly against Ghana. Woltemade, who had already been substituted at this point, remained goalless, as he has almost always done this calendar year. Why has so little remained of his dream start at Newcastle United? Why has he been in a slump for months? And does he even do that?
The criticism from outside “does bother me”, says Woltemade
“I don’t see it as negatively as it is seen from the outside, for me it’s still a normal process,” explains Woltemade. “Of course, you could look at it from the outside and say: He’s only scored one goal in the new year, what’s wrong with him? But anyone who really looks at my games knows why that is.”
The fact that he is currently receiving a lot of criticism “does bother me”, he admits. “If someone accuses me of having a form crisis, I would simply say that they don’t watch many Newcastle United games.” Because there are a few good reasons why Woltemade is suddenly hardly scoring any more.
“I’m playing in a completely different position than I was at the start of the season. In the game against Chelsea recently, I played a kind of man-to-man cover against Cole Palmer in midfield, and he’s an attacking ten. You can imagine the spaces I was in on the pitch,” Woltemade points out. “I know that people associate me with goals, but you can’t compare the goal rate of a striker with that of a midfielder who plays 50, 60, 70 meters away from the opponent’s goal. I’m a completely different Nick Woltemade at the moment than I was at the start of the season. At the moment, I’d have to be judged more on how I tackle or secure spaces.”
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing to expand my repertoire”
But how did it come about that coach Eddie Howe – who is himself under scrutiny after the recent setbacks – now plays Woltemade on the half-left or half-right in a five-man midfield? “Several things have come together,” says Woltemade. “First Bruno Guimaraes, our playmaker, was out, and then a few other midfielders. I then played one position further back and I think I did quite well there too. The coach was happy with me, but at the same time he wanted a bit more depth in the center of the attack. Of course, a player like Anthony Gordon can give us that.” Although not a trained attacker, he is currently set in the center of attack.
Woltemade clearly has no problem with his new role. “I score a lot fewer goals as a result, of course. But I’m completely relaxed, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to expand my repertoire. That’s the task I have right now, and I’m trying to master it. And I’m convinced that it will make me stronger in the long run if I learn to deal with phases like this.”
And then there’s the national team, where he was allowed to start at number nine against Ghana. “I’m always happy when I get to play centrally in attack,” he says. “I think that’s the best way for me to contribute my strengths to the team.”