'He's not' - Latest damning Nick Woltemade verdict emerges from Italy after Newcastle United loan exit

Former Middlesbrough striker Fabrizio Ravanelli has cast doubt over Nick Woltemade’s goalscoring ability as the Newcastle United forward looks to make an impact during a season-long loan spell with Juventus.

The Germany international made a promising start to life at St James’ Park after joining the Magpies from Stuttgart in a club record deal last summer. After scoring four goals in his first five Premier League appearances, Woltemade ended the season with 12 goals in 53 appearances in all competitions. However, that only tells half of the story when it comes to the forward’s first season on Tyneside after he was utilised as a midfielder for part of the campaign and appeared to lose confidence and belief during that time.

After remaining on the bench for the first competitive game of Matthias Jaissle’s reign, Woltemade appeared as a substitute in Newcastle’s 2-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur six days later and his only start of the season came within an underwhelming display in a Carabao Cup second round victory against West Bromwich Albion.

Woltemade joined Juventus on a season-long loan during the final hours of the summer transfer window and has appeared as a substitute in Serie A fixtures against AC Milan, Sassuolo and Atalanta before scoring his first goal with a penalty in a Europa League tie with NEC Nijmegen.

Ravanelli has insisted Juventus should have made a big money move for Nigeria international Victor Osimhen and remains unsure whether Woltemade fits the bill to lead the line with the Serie A giants.

He told TuttoSport: "At Newcastle he did very well in the first half. He's not a centre forward, because when you play as a centre forward you have to attack the near post well, be strong in the air, have a nose for goal even on tap-ins. I think he's a bit better at coming out, a second striker. I don't think he's the profile that can make the leap in quality.

"He'll certainly be useful to Spalletti, but I think Juve needed more of a deep-lying player who's good in the air, given they have a lot of players who run deep. Having (Victor) Osimhen would have been ideal. He's a dream, but there are also players with these characteristics around. The manager might struggle without Kolo Muani."

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