Nick Woltemade has been outstanding for Newcastle United, but there is clearly more to come.
The 23-year-old has performed better than expected in black and white, with Nick Woltemade already scoring six goals for his new club following his £69million arrival from Stuttgart.
Newcastle United’s most expensive signing ever is already a fan favourite, while you can also see why his teammates relish playing with him.
Woltemade loves linking up play and dropping deep to bring others into the game, but that also puts pressure on the rest of the Newcastle United squad to contribute in the final third.
While a lot of that pressure is on Eddie Howe’s wingers, it is also on the midfield that plays behind Woltemade. However, the trio of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton is perhaps not perfectly suited to the big man’s needs.
Nick Woltemade trains for Newcastle United.
Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images
The Jacob Ramsey suggestion that Newcastle United should explore
That is why Jacob Ramsey could be so important for Eddie Howe, if he is given the opportunity to become a regular starter at St James’ Park.
The £43million man has been in and out of the team since joining from Aston Villa, but has certainly looked promising. He will look even better with consistent minutes, and that could even be to the benefit of Woltemade.
That is the view of journalist Julien Laurens, who believes that Ramsey has the potential to link up better with Woltemade than Joelinton.
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“I still think that Newcastle and Eddie Howe haven’t really found the right way of using him and his skill set, which is very different to Isak,” he said on BBC Sport’s Firing From the Hip podcast.
“I mentioned on our Premier League Sunday show on 5 Live on Sunday before the West Ham vs Newcastle game that I’m not sure that Joeinton, Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes in the midfield works for Woltemade.
“I think he would benefit far more to have Ramsey in there instead of Joelinton, for example, to have a more creative touch there, to link up with him a lot because he’s that kind of number nine. So I still think he’s a bit underused with Newcastle. However, he’s so good and gets in good positions that I still think the goal is coming from him.”
Laurens’ assessment is very fair. From the brief snippets we have seen of him at Newcastle United and his success at Aston Villa, we know the technical qualities that Ramsey possesses. It is something that Howe has raved about in recent weeks, as he continues to build up his summer signing’s fitness.
That guile and creativity in and around the box is something that Joelinton does not possess, which limits his capacity to combine with Woltemade.
While certain games require Joelinton’s physicality and tactical understanding, other fixtures need more technical prowess. It is also something that Woltemade will benefit from, which is why Howe must consider making Ramsey a Newcastle United regular.
Newcastle United need more runners beyond Nick Woltemade
The success of Woltemade at Newcastle United will live or die by the quality of runners around him. He will bring players into the game all day long, but it is only going to be successful if the players around him seize the space he creates.
It is something that Anthony Gordon has done so far, showcasing an early understanding of what the giant German needs.
It is also something that Bruno Guimaraes has done. It has been reported that Bruno has been told to get in the box more, which has resulted in him scoring three goals in all competitions.
More players need to be making runs beyond Woltemade. It cannot just be Gordon and Bruno.
That is where Ramsey comes into the equation, with the 24-year-old boasting the potential to deliver exactly what Newcastle United need to get more out of their club-record signing.