Tottenham v Newcastle: What has happened to Nick Woltemade?

It is also easy to forget that Woltemade is still only 23.

He only became a regular starter at Stuttgart in December 2024, before joining Newcastle a few months later after the club missed out on, among others, Hugo Ekitike, Joao Pedro and Benjamin Sesko.

He had not played outside his homeland before, and had to quickly adapt to the speed and physicality of the Premier League, as well as a system previously tailored to a rapid striker who led the defensive press from the front and ran in behind, which is not Woltemade’s game.

The Bundesliga is fierce in its own right, but it is rather telling that Woltemade has only been awarded four fouls in his last 11 top-flight fixtures.

Premier League analysts and defenders now have had a greater body of work to study in order to try to limit his influence in this Newcastle side compared to earlier in the campaign.

There have been times where Woltemade has not been in the box – lacking those instincts a traditional poacher has – and other occasions where he has looked isolated up front and not had enough runners near him, which is down to the way Newcastle have been set up.

No wonder, then, Woltemade is only averaging 1.9 shots per game in the league this season.

Woltemade failed to even hit the target with a couple of headers from his most recent chances in front of goal, against Wolves last month, but service has also clearly been an issue for a player who thrives off balls to feet.

Although Newcastle lead the way for crosses in the Premier League (637), only eight top-flight sides have a worse crossing accuracy (21.5%).

Also, rather than being a traditional target man who plays with his back to goal, the technical Woltemade looks most comfortable operating in the spaces between the midfield and the box.

It was from these areas that at Stuttgart he often showcased a unique ability – for someone so tall to dribble past defenders and link up with those around him.

Howe fielded Woltemade in such a role behind Wissa in a 4-2-3-1 against Bournemouth last month and revisited the experiment as Newcastle attempted to get back into the game in the second half versus Brentford at the weekend.

But the head coach readily admitted his attack has “not quite functioned fully yet” as he attempts to bed his summer signings “into the team format”.

“Nick has done everything with such a great attitude,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing, for me, that means he will continue to be successful.”