Woltemade will have an extra motivation to impress when Barcelona arrive at St James' Park on Thursday evening
Sean McCormick is a football writer covering Newcastle United for ChronicleLive. After starting his career covering North East sport, he has had a spell working as an editor on the Manchester Evening News. He also writes about darts and boxing. He joined us in 2016.
Nick Woltemade is substituted to a standing ovation during Newcastle United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Nick Woltemade is substituted to a standing ovation during Newcastle United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
(Image: Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Image)
When Newcastle United line up against Barcelona on Thursday evening, Nick Woltemade will be making his long awaited debut in the Champions League.
The fact he hasn't played in European football's premier competition may come as a surprise to many people given he joined the Magpies from VFB Stuttgart, who played in last season's Champions League.
But Woltemade's success at Stuttgart came in the second half of last season. He initially struggled to break into the team after his free transfer from Werder Bremen and he wasn't selected in their squad for the Champions League's league phase.
It was a big blow for the German international but it also served as a turning point in his season.
“You have to separate the last season in two halves," Felix Arnold, Stuttgart reporter for BILD, told Chronicle Live.
"When he first came to Stuttgart it was quite difficult for him. Most of the time in the first few weeks he was stuck on the bench and even in the tribune so it wasn’t that easy for him. He wasn’t nominated for the Champions League by [Stuttgart manager] Sebastian Hoeness but I think if he had to make that decision again now he would have nominated him.
"Denis Undav and Ermedin Demirovic scored a lot of goals in the first half of the season and Nick didn’t play that often. But in the second half of the season, Undav had a period where he was injured and Nick took the chance to show what he can do and he really was brilliant.
"He had so many goals, so many assists and after that period of time where he sat on the bench, he worked with a mental coach and got some help outside. In the beginning he was very sad because he wanted to play in the Champions League.
"VFB was his favourite club and it was an honour to play for them and he wanted to come to Stuttgart to play in the Champions League and he wasn’t nominated.
"He worked with the mental coach and used his chance and in the second half of the season he scored a lot of goals and he was the best striker of the DFB Pokal and scored in the final against Arminia Bielefeld."
Woltemade ended the season with 17 goals in all competitions and as a DFB Pokal winner. But Stuttgart were eliminated in the league phase so the 23-year-old never got his chance to shine in the Champions League.
Stuttgart could only qualify for the Europa League this term so in order to chase his Champions League dream this season he would have to move elsewhere.
That move elsewhere arrived when Newcastle slapped in a £69million offer the German side simply could not refuse.
After scoring on his Premier League debut against Wolves on Saturday, Woltemade will head into Thursday's Champions League opener against Barcelona riding the crest of a wave.
"It’s such a nice game,” said Woltemade when asked about the prospect of facing Hansi Flick's side.
"It’s my first Champions League game at home here at St James’ Park against Barcelona. I guess it can’t be better, I’m really looking forward to it."
If he can channel that pent up frustration of missing out on Champions League football last season into a positive at St James' Park, he could well inspire another famous European night for Eddie Howe's side.