Nick Woltemade evoked his inner Alan Shearer to earn Newcastle United’s first home game of the season.
Nick Woltemade called Alan Shearer a “legend” after scoring a debut goal reminiscent of the Newcastle United icon.
Eddie Howe threw the German into the deep end with an immediate start at St James' Park on Saturday. His decision was ultimately forced as fellow newcomer Yoane Wissa - a proven Premier League goalscorer - picked up an injury in midweek.
Wissa is set to spend up to five weeks on the sidelines - handing Woltemade a big opportunity to stake his claim. As far as first impressions go, the 23-year-old could not have asked for a better start.
Nick Woltemade’s winning debut
His first-half header from a Jacob Murphy cross put Wolverhampton Wanderers to the sword in a tight 1-0 win. Newcastle were given a reminder of what they missed - a centre-forward - in their opening three games.
The performance was not pretty but the win gave the Magpies a much-needed boost ahead of a huge clash on Thursday. Woltemade will be called upon again as Newcastle entertain Barcelona on home soil.
‘He’s the legend’ - Nick Woltemade
Speaking post-match, Woltemade called Shearer a “legend” after the Newcastle hero praised his headed goal on social media. The £69million record buy admitted he has been working on his aerial ability.
"Of course, he's the legend,” Woltemade said. “He scored a lot of goals and, of course, I'm happy about it. I worked a lot on it the last weeks, the last months and the last year.
“With my height, I guess you have to. You can get more goals if you can have a good header. A header always feels good as a striker, especially if you work on it every week, so I was just happy when the ball was going in."
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Eddie Howe on Nick Woltemade
Howe also raved about his new arrival’s first taste of Premier League action. He told reporters: “You saw his qualities, his technical qualities that we've been discussing, his intelligence. But most importantly, for a striker, when the ball comes in the box, you need to be there. And he was today. It was a great finish.
“Really, really pleased for him personally, because that just settles him down and relaxes him. A very humble guy, wants to do well, he's delighted to be here. I think it's a great start. For me, that's a great football goal. It's a brilliant cross from Jacob Murphy. He did that time and again for us last season. And as I say, Nick's where he needs to be.
“You see a lot of centre-forwards who aren't in the box these days and I'm delighted that Nick is in there, because one of the challenges that he will face, because he's good technically and we want to use his technical skills, is that he finds himself out in goal-scoring areas. But he wasn't, and that's what he's paid to do.”
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