Shay Given was full of praise for striker Nick Woltemade following the German striker's debut for Newcastle United.
The summer transfer window was one in which Newcastle were heavily mentioned, though much of that was not exactly for reasons they would like. The most talked about saga of the window involved Alexander Isak, who eventually left Newcastle for Liverpool in a British record transfer deal.
Newcastle, knowing that their number nine wanted to leave, put even more focus into their search for a new striker, but were knocked back by numerous targets before, in the window's final stages, the Magpies agreed deals to sign both Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade, from Brentford and Stuttgart respectively.
In their first game after the September international break, Newcastle hosted Wolverhampton Wanderers, a game in which Woltemade started to make his full debut.
'He Brings a Presence to The Team'
Newcastle United striker Nick Woltemade
Speaking on BBC's Match of The Day, pundit Shay Given, who spent several years as Newcastle's number one goalkeeper in his playing career, spoke glowingly about the German international, whose debut goal gave Eddie Howe's team a 1-0 victory over a Wolves side who, at the time of writing, remain winless in the Premier League.
The Irishman was evidently impressed by what he saw from Woltemade, saying:
"(There was) big talk over the summer, who's going to replace Isak? And Woltemade's the man to do it, hopefully. It's a brilliant start, people talk about, 'is he a number nine, is he a number 10?' I think he's a bit of both... I'm excited to see him play in a Newcastle shirt, I really am.
"What he brings, he brings a presence to the team. They paid a lot of money for him, but I think there's still a very young player and I think with Eddie (Howe) and his staff, they can improve him like they did, I suppose, with Isak. They made him a better player.
"It's not rocket science. Get the ball in the box, you've got a six-foot-six-inch striker in the box and he'll score goals."
A physically imposing striker, Woltemade's game is made all the better by his impressive technical ability. As such, whilst the German can be utilised as a target for crosses, that is certainly not all that he is restricted to. He also, seemingly, showed an ability to cope with the physicality of the Premier League, not always a given for new arrivals.
Arriving for almost £70 million, expectations for Woltemade, who was tracked by Bundesliga juggernauts Bayern Munich, are very high. Should he continue in the same vein as his debut, however, then Newcastle supporters may quickly forget about Isak.