Nick Woltemade finally made his debut for Newcastle United after a £69m switch from Bundesliga outfit VFB Stuttgart.
He played 63 minutes and got the only goal in a 1-0 over Wolves, heading home Jacob Murphy’s cross emphatically to start his career at St James’ Park in style.
The towering German was pushed towards the home support after the game to bask in the admiration from his new fanbase, he told ChronicleLive’s Lee Ryder shortly after the game that it made him happy.
> _“It can’t be better for me – I was really happy when I scored the goal, but we won the game, so I am really happy for the team.”_
>
> _“It can’t be better for me on my home debut, a goal on my home debut and a win, really happy. The crowd made me feel really welcome, when I scored all I could see was happy faces.”_
>
> _“I want to enjoy every moment. And I am looking forward to a few more games.”_
Unlike other signings, Woltemade has been thrust into the deep end. Eddie Howe put him straight into the starting eleven after only working with his new teammates for four days, after recently returning from international duty with the German national team.
Woltemade echoed his desire to have joined Newcastle in this interview, saying he felt at ease with the manager and the senior members of the board he spoke to.
> _“My agent does his job, but as soon as he told me Newcastle were interested in me, I was really happy. Then the talks started.”_
>
> _“When the talks started, I felt really welcome straight away and had nice conversations with the coach. I am just really happy to be here.”_
There were audible groans around St James’ Park when the number 27 flashed on the fourth official’s board, but Woltemade gave the fans an answer as to why he was subbed off.
> _“The Premier League is quite hard, I had to go out because I had cramps!”_
The 6 foot 6 German reflected on his first game in black and white, praising his teammates and the fans’ support. ‘Big Nick’ said Eddie Howe’s coaching put him in a positive mindset and made him feel confident enough to set the world alight.
> _“For the first game I think it’s ok to come in. It was amazing, the atmosphere, the team played really good balls, they involved me a lot. I think we did quite good.”_
>
> _“It was a hard game, because we didn’t win a game in the league before and it was really important that we won a game, especially a home game and we can look forward to the next games.”_
>
> _“I think the coach already gave me such a good feeling, so I felt good on the pitch. I knew what to do and I guess you saw today everybody knew what they have to do. This win was really important.”_
Discussing the goal again and his big moment in front of his friends and new supporters, he added:
> _“Murph told me he always makes crosses! I was ready for it….I headed it well. I looked up and my friends were there….the fans were there. I was so happy.”_
>
> _“I didn’t know what to do when I scored!! Because it can’t be a better debut. Everyone was looking at me!”_
>
> _“Really happy to be here. I’ve already seen the fans outside a lot and it’s the right place to be right now. I’m happy that I’ve made them happy.”_
Woltemade helped Newcastle claim their first win in the Premier League this season, giving the Magpies momentum ahead of one of the most high-profile games of the season, when Eddie Howe’s men face Barcelona next Thursday.