**German international striker Nick Woltemade made his Newcastle United debut on Saturday, scoring the winning goal in the process as the Magpies beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0.**
Woltemade's debut probably came earlier than even he was expecting after Yoane Wissa picked up a knee injury on international duty during the week.
Many had expected that Eddie Howe would bide his time introducing Woltemade to the starting lineup, but that option was taken away and watching the 23-year-old in action on Saturday, it doesn't look like he's daunted by the Premier League at all.
Indeed, were it not for his body cramping up after an hour or so, we'd say he looked like he'd been playing in the Premier League for years.
> [](https://twitter.com/BBCMOTD/status/1967150204232085518)
Shay Given urges Newcastle to get more balls into the box when Nick Woltemade is on the pitch
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His debut impressed Newcastle's all-time appearance record holder, Shay Given, who was in the Match of the Day studio. The former goalkeeper was very impressed with how Woltemade made himself available for passes, and then praised the 6'6" striker's ability with his head after scoring the goal, saying that's what Newcastle should be looking to do from now on.
> "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.
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> "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 tweak to the system could benefit Newcastle
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It might be a bit old-fashioned to ping crosses in for a big man to head home, but there was a reason why it was such a popular play for so long - it works.
Jacob Murphy clearly already has a taste for it, having told Wotlemade that he'll be putting crosses in for him to get on the end of.
Eddie Howe doesn't need to change his entire style of play, but a tweak to take advantage of Woltermann's strengths is the sensible thing to do.