“Not in good form”: sign of life from Nick Woltemade at the perfect time
Shortly before his first goal for Juventus, coach Luciano Spalletti directed an appeal to Nick Woltemade and his rival Randal Kolo Muani - and was successful in doing so.
Just before the Old Lady's 5-0 Europa League win over NEC Nijmegen from the Netherlands, the Italian set out his view on Woltemade. "He was not particularly fit when he arrived. He still needs to be built up. We have to let him play. He and Kolo Muani can also play together," said Spalletti, before stressing: "But during the game I need a real alternative in attack."
In the hours that followed, both the Germany international, who made it 3-0 from the penalty spot, and Kolo Muani, who made it 5-0 after coming on as a substitute, scored their first goal of the season. It brought a measure of relief for Woltemade in particular, after the Italian press had gone hard on him only a few days earlier. "He still has a lot to learn and must get used to the level of the Italian league," wrote La Gazzetta dello Sport after Juve's first defeat of the season, a 3-2 loss to US Sassuolo.
For Woltemade, it was also his first start since joining Turin on loan from Newcastle United in the summer. Then, in the 35th minute, he got his moment after a notable gesture from his team-mate Nico Gonzalez. The Argentinian, who also has a past with VfB Stuttgart, pointedly pressed the ball into the German's hands before the kick and gave his team-mate's hair an encouraging ruffle. Spalletti applauded from the touchline and the rest of the side celebrated with him.
Following the defeat to Sassuolo, Spalletti had suggested little would change for the time being when it came to Woltemade's place on the bench. The 24-year-old first had to reach the required fitness level. Against Nijmegen, though, he stayed on the pitch for 83 minutes and took the next step in his search for top form before Atalanta Bergamo await on Sunday.
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Spalletti could now even put that idea into practice and start Woltemade alongside Kolo Muani, or wait until after the XXL international break, when Woltemade may have picked up even more self-confidence. The tall attacker is in Jürgen Klopp's second squad for the two later Nations League matches against Serbia (1 October) and Greece (4 October), announced by the new Germany coach, of all people, on the day of Woltemade's first goal.
Woltemade had already been part of Julian Nagelsmann's World Cup squad, but with so little playing time at Newcastle after his move worth more than 75 million euros, he barely featured. Even the arrival of German coach Matthias Jaissle did nothing to improve his difficult standing with the Magpies, although he had even previously sought talks with VfB coach Sebastian Hoeneß. The loan move to Juve followed.
