Nick Woltemade has been named in the Germany national team squad despite recent inconsistencies at Newcastle United.
Newcastle United striker Nick Woltemade has been called-up to the Germany national team squad along with defender Malick Thiaw.
Woltemade hasn’t scored in the Premier League since December and has recently been tasked with playing in a deeper midfield role. The German has scored 10 goals in all competitions for Newcastle this season following his club record £64million arrival from VfB Stuttgart in the summer.
But after an initially strong start to life on Tyneside, Woltemade has struggled for goals and consistency. The 24-year-old remained an unused substitute in Wednesday’s 7-2 defeat against Barcelona at Camp Nou in the Champions League with William Osula getting the nod ahead of him as an attacking substitute.
At international level, Woltemade has scored four goals in his last three games leading the line for Germany and is set to go away with his country to the 2026 World Cup in North America this summer.
And Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann discussed Woltemade’s struggles at club level ahead of the upcoming friendlies against Switzerland and Ghana.
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Julian Nagelsmann on Nick Woltemade ‘playing very deep’ at Newcastle United
"Nick is a very pleasant guy who exudes a lot of positive energy,” Nagelsmann said. “He's undoubtedly going through a tough time, but that's normal.
“He's done well for us. He can start, but also come on as a substitute because he has an unorthodox style of play. I think being here with us will help him.”
On Woltemade’s new role at Newcastle, Nagelsmann promised that he would not consider it for the national team as it does not utilise the player’s strengths.
“He's often playing very deep for Newcastle now, and when he plays as a holding midfielder, he has a lot of distance to cover to get to the goal,” he added. “He's not a counter-attacking striker who runs at 36 km/h. I can promise you he won't be 80 meters away from goal for us. He won't play in those kinds of games.
“I rate him highly as a player and as a person. It's normal, new culture, new league, new city. He also needed time at Stuttgart. I have confidence in him. Everything will be alright.”
Eddie Howe on Nick Woltemade’s World Cup chances
Howe was recently asked if Woltemade’s inconsistent recent role in his Newcastle side could impact the player’s World Cup chances
“In terms of his Germany career, without speaking for Nick, I think him playing well in any position for us is only going to help supplement that,” Howe said. “Nick is very, very happy playing the [midfield] role that he has done the last few games, there’s no fight with him on that.
“He's very much all in because he wants to showcase his best skills and his best skills are technically helping us link play. But what we've seen which maybe has surprised me, has been his tactical understanding and his ability to understand the press, understand what he needs to do defensively, he’s been excellent.
“He does have a sort of freedom on the ball to take up central positions. He has the freedom to drift to a degree across the pitch, so he’s not in a stranglehold by the position in one place.
“Hopefully we’ll see the very best of him, but his position isn't fixed, we can change however we see fit, depending on the game."
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