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Nick Woltemade looks to leap into Newcastle folklore against Barcelona

When Nick Woltemade's bullet header hit the back of the net to put Newcastle United in front against Wolves on Saturday, you could feel an outpouring of relief in the St James' Park roar.

It was a troubled summer striker-wise for the Magpies, caught in the middle of the Premier League's major transfer saga, as well as being beaten to the punch in multiple battles as they looked to strengthen attacking options ahead of what promises to be a relentless campaign.

Alexander Isak, scorer of 27 goals last season, had controversially downed tools in pre-season in a bid to force through a move to Liverpool that was not concluded until a British-record deal was agreed on deadline day.

Newcastle, meanwhile, had tried – but failed – to seal deals for the likes of Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko, before Stuttgart striker Woltemade (for a club record £69 million) and then Brentford's Youane Wisse (£55m) finally completed moves to Tyneside.

It seemed fitting after such a summer of turmoil that Wissa would pick up a knee injury while on international duty with DR Congo which will hold up his debut for around a month.

After two points and two goals from their opening three games, manager Eddie Howe was given little alternative but to throw Woltemade in at the deep end against Wolves.

And the 1.98m-tall German international made an instant impact, nodding home Jacob Murphy's inch-perfect cross from the right to earn Newcastle their first win of the season.

“You saw his qualities, his technical qualities that we've been discussing and his intelligence,” said Howe after the match. “But most importantly for a striker, when the ball comes into the box, you need to be there. And he was.”

Woltemade was given a standing ovation by the Geordie crowd after being forced off with cramp in the second half.

“I worked a lot on it the last weeks, the last months and the last year,” he said after being asked about his headed finish. “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.”

It was a particularly fitting goal if you know the history of Newcastle's next fixture. On Thursday, the club is back on Uefa Champions League duty for only the second time in two decades when they play host to a Barcelona side that has just thrashed Valencia 6-0 in La Liga.

And it will be almost exactly 28 years ago to the day that the black and whites secured a famous 3-2 victory over the Catalan giants with Faustino Asprilla scoring a superb hat-trick.

It had also been a nightmare summer back then for Newcastle manager Kenny Dalglish, who lost the services of his fearsome strike pairing Les Ferdinand and Alan Shearer before a ball had been kicked in anger.

After the club agreed to sell Ferdinand to Tottenham Hotspur to balance the books, following years of big spending under previous manager Kevin Keegan, Dalglish could only look on in disbelief as talismanic striker Shearer broke his fibula and ruptured ankle ligaments during a pre-season game against Chelsea.

So when they lined up against Louis van Gaal's star-studded Barca team – that included the likes of Luis Enrique, Luis Figo and Rivaldo – on September 17, Dalglish was relying on unpredictable Colombian striker Asprilla to lead his attack in the club's first ever Champions League game.

As it turned out, Asprilla and Irish winger Keith Gillespie were about to write themselves into Geordie folklore in front of a deafening Tyneside crowd.

“Aaah, the noise! It was unbelievable,” said Gillespie in Tyneside journalist Martin Hardy's 2016 book chronicling the football club, Tunnel of Love.

“The noise was so loud,” added Asprilla. “Barcelona could not stop us. You hear the fans. They gave us belief. It was an incredible night.”

Asprilla put Newcastle in front from the spot after being taken down himself by Barca keeper Ruud Hesp. It was then time for the Gillespie-Asprilla show to take over.

Just after the half-hour mark, winger Gillespie left Spanish international full-back Sergi in his wake before firing over a cross that Asprilla rose to nod home.

“The leap? I've never seen a leap like it,” said Gillespie. “How did he get that far off the ground? It made the goal even better the height he got.”

Just after half time, there was a carbon-copy goal to make it 3-0 with Gillespie again leaving Sergi for dead before finding Asprilla, who headed home in style.

“I knew I was having the game of my life,” said Gillespie. “I just wanted the ball at every opportunity.

“It was the best I ever played football by a long way. There was just noise. When you look back, you go, 'Who do you want your best game to be against?'. Luckily for me, it was Barcelona.”

There were similar sentiments from Asprilla, who was not even expecting to play after being fined by Dalglish for what had become trademark poor timekeeping during the Colombian's spell on Tyneside.

“It was one of the most important games of my career,” said Asprilla. “It was so special for me and the fans. That was my best game for Newcastle.”

It also turned out to be his last goals for the club as Asprilla was sold back to former club Parma four months later as his relationship with Dalglish disintegrated.

Now it is the school of 2025 dreaming of beating Barca, and Woltemade leading the line, looking to make his own piece of history.

“It's my first Champions League game at home here at St James' Park against Barcelona,” he said after beating Wolves. “I guess it can't be better, so I'm really looking forward to it.”

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