'Unhappy' Nick Woltemade makes big Newcastle United statement ahead of 2026-27 season
Nick Woltemade made a promising start to his Newcastle United career but his form has dipped since the turn of the year.
Nick Woltemade has vowed to ‘make his mark’ at Newcastle United after admitting to being unhappy at ‘how things have gone in the past few months’.
Woltemade joined Newcastle for a club-record £64million from Stuttgart last summer and immediately hit the ground running with seven goals in his first 14 starts.
The goals, however, soon dried up. After scoring a brace in a 2-2 draw with Chelsea at St James’ Park on December 20, Woltemade has only found the net twice since then.
The Gazette has launched a WhatsApp NUFC channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates directly to your phone. Simply click this link to join our NUFC WhatsApp channel.
That said, the 24-year-old last started as the central striker in February, and he is keen to remind people of his positional change when defending his form.
Woltemade has been played either as a central midfielder or a ‘No.10’ by Eddie Howe, arguing that it is ‘much more difficult’ for him to get into ‘dangerous scoring positions’.
‘Unhappy’ Nick Woltemade vows to make his mark at Newcastle United
But despite his struggles since the turn of the year, Woltemade is confident he’ll be a success on Tyneside.
“I’m expected to score or provide an assist in every game but if I’m not playing in attack, it’s much more difficult for me to get into dangerous scoring positions,” Woltemade told German magazine Stern.
“Of course, I’m not happy with how things have gone in the past few months. Especially since my start at Newcastle was so strong. That raised expectations, including for myself.
“I moved to the Premier League at 23, the best league in the world. I’ve learned a lot this season. I’ve improved athletically, I can keep up with the tremendous pace. I can hold my own in challenges.
“Overall, it’s been a step forward. That’s why I have no doubts about Newcastle. I’ll make my mark there.”
Woltemade has been called up to Germany’s World Cup squad, with their campaign getting underway against Curacao on Sunday evening.
But neither he nor Newcastle teammate Malick Thiaw are expected to feature in the starting XI, with Arsenal’s Kai Havertz and Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav seemingly ahead of him in the striker pecking order.
In Germany’s two warm-up matches, Undav started one and Havertz started the other as Woltemade was restricted to a 17-minute cameo - in midfield - against Finland, while he didn’t make it off the bench against the USA.