The German striker cut a frustrated figure in the two Premier League away defeats to Brentford and West Ham
Newcastle United's Nick Woltemade
Newcastle's Nick Woltemade(Image: PA)
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It's been a roller-coaster few months for Nick Woltemade. From a breakthrough season with Stuttgart to this summer's U21 EUROS and then that club-record transfer to Newcastle United, the big German seems to have taken it all in his stride.
It seems there is little that can ruffle the striker who has defied his mere 23 years by adapting to a new club, country and league while continuing to grow as a player.
If Yoane Wissa had been bit then it's a fair bet we may have seen a little less of Woltemade on the pitch, but he has certainly risen to the challenge, already scoring six goals for Newcastle.
He may be an imposing figure, but anyone who thought United had signed an old-fashioned battering ram had a rude awakening minutes into his debut against Wolves back in September.
That's not to say he's no threat in the air - half of his goals have come from headers - but he has shown a deft touch and vision which will be a massive asset to United . . . once the rest of the side figure out how to play around him.
If there's a criticism, and it must be tempered by the fact that he has already outstripped the expectations of everyone, it's that when United need someone to lead the line, he drops too deep in an attempt to win the ball.
That may be 'his game' but he must learn to operate where Newcastle need him the most. When they're firing on all cylinders with players bombing forward, then his deep-lying role can cause chaos, but when they're under pressure and need an outlet and someone to hold the ball up, he must also take on that burden.
The first concerning signs came last weekend in the 3-1 defeat at Brentford.
It's not that Woltemade was any worse than his team-mates on a day when perhaps only Malick Thiaw came away with any credit, it was more than Brentford appeared to have worked him out.
Already this season we've seen the potential benefits of Woltemade dropping deep to link up with the midfield and create space behind him to exploit.
Just look at Anthony Gordon's goal against Barcelona when he created the space for Jacob Murphy to run into before sliding the ball across the boss for the England winger to pull one back.
But at the Gtech Community Stadium, the Bees' backline were savvy to that. They didn't follow him towards the half-way line, but instead allowed Woltemade to get involved with the likes of Jordan Henderson in a midfield scrap. Any success he had did not therefore lead to gaps in the home defence.
It's something every Premier League head coach will have watched and taken note of, and something Newcastle must look to avoid repeating.
Of course having more attacking options on the pitch will only help, with Wissa's return hopefully imminent. That link-up is mouthwatrering . . . if they are given the chance of the pitch together.
So what can United do in the meantime? Well the encouraging part of Sunday's defeat, perhaps the only one, was the one time Woltemade received the ball in the box, it led to United's goal, with the German laying it off to Harvey Barnes to finish in style.
It's a two-way street. Woltemade must get into the box more and drive defences back, but at the same time United must give him better service.
How many chances has he missed? I can only think of an effort that hit the post against Fulham and a snapshot against Forest when a mis-hit clearance fell into his path.
He's currently on a huge learning curve at Newcastle and should be rightly lauded for what he has done so far. The next steps are challenging but when Newcastle and Woltemade get it right, they will both reap the benefits.