The future of the German striker remains uncertain after his loan move to Juventus
Nick Woltemade, William Osula and Jacob Ramsey of Newcastle United
Nick Woltemade, William Osula and Jacob Ramsey of Newcastle United
Newcastle United have discovered a cutting edge that means there will be no way back for Nick Woltemade after his loan spell at Juventus ends.
That's the view of Sky Sports pundit and former England and Arsenal striker Alan Smith, who has hailed the 'brilliant' start to the season by manager Matthias Jaissle.
The Magpies head to Elland Road on Monday night unbeaten in their first five competitive games under their new head coach, having struggled in pre-season after a turbulent time on and off the pitch. Jaissle didn't arrive until the training camp in La Manga, after Eddie Howe's exit, and after beating Valencia saw his side lose to Everton, Strasbourg and Bayer Leverkusen.
However, an opening-day draw against Liverpool was a huge source of positivity and encouragement, and United have since beaten Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and won two Carabao Cup rounds against West Brom and Millwall.
It has helped allay some of the fears before the campaign kicked off, when star men Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon departed. Another big name, Woltemade, also left the club on deadline day on loan to Juventus, but Jaissle has managed to get a tune out of the remaining forwards with Harvey Barnes, Anthony Elanga, Joe Willock and Yoane Wissa already among the goals.
"Well, after all the pessimism in pre-season, with Tonali and Guimaraes going out and Anthony Gordon, everyone was wondering where things were going, and obviously Eddie Howe leaving," said Smith. "But it’s been a brilliant start for him [Jaissle], hasn’t it? Unbeaten in five, including those Carabao games. So he couldn’t have asked for much more.
"He’s got a cutting edge with Wissa coming forward now, and Elanga, two players that hardly contributed last season, and Harvey Barnes stepping in for Anthony Gordon, got a brilliant goal at the weekend.
"[Jacob] Ramsey, Willock, they’ve got some good choices going forward. So yeah, I think he’ll be really pleased."
The forward options were also bolstered by the arrival from Lille of Matias Fernandez-Pardo in a £51m deal, which was helped by United getting Woltemade off the books. And Smith expects the German striker to be sold permanently next summer.
"He’s a curious one because he’s a bit of a maverick," he added to BestBettingSites. "You look at him, and he’s unlike most forwards. Really tall, rangy, not particularly powerful, and he loves dropping in as well. So you’ve almost got to build your team around him.
"So yeah, with those lads I mentioned, they’re well equipped going forward now. So Woltemade, I would imagine they’ll be trying to offload him after the loan spell."
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