So what if he can’t press?: Nick Woltemade scores again for Juventus from centre-forward

Newcastle United’s decision to send Nick Woltemade out on loan to Juventus this summer split opinion.

Some fans believed it was an oversight, some believed it was the right decision - but the one consensus was that big Nick wasn’t being used correctly on Tyneside.

Five goals in his opening eight games from centre-forward showed the German had goalscoring prowess, but the following period saw him shoehorned into the number 10 and the midfield three, which did absolutely nothing positive for his chances of success and it couldn’t have been more apparent.

Now, whilst Newcastle struggle to find a regular goalscorer up front, Woltemade continues to put his minutes to good use, scoring and assisting yesterday to take his Europa League tally to three goals in three games.

It doesn’t take a genius to guess where he has been playing for the Old Lady does it… at the very top end of the pitch.

Woltemade not a good tactical fit for Jaissle

I’m not suggesting it was the whole reason, but it seemed at the time that a big part of why Jaissle was okay with letting Woltemade leave was his lack of pressing ability, something integral to the way Jaissle wants his Newcastle side to play.

Of course, his mobility would also have been a hindrance to playing a vertical, fast-breaking style, and those currently at the club in the shape of Wissa, Osula and Fernandez-Pardo do all emerge as better tactical fits on paper.

But on paper is just that and, thus far, none of those three have become the clear number one option up front - although that is a bit harsh on Osula given he has been injured.

Is pressing and mobility a good enough reason to get rid?

In principle, it did make sense to move Woltemade on if we are strictly looking at what Jaissle wanted. But now we’ve had a few months to conceptualise the decision, I’m not sure the reasons behind it were quite enough justification to not keep him as an option.

Newcastle United’s press isn’t working anyway, as is currently being shown by a plethora of unflattering statistics that show the Magpies are dysfunctional in that area.

There is also an argument that Woltemade’s lack of mobility lends him rather well to the part of Jaissle’s press that requires forcing the opposition into one half of the pitch and, whilst he wasn’t exactly the most potent pressing force under Eddie Howe either, to write him off entirely because of just that seems harsh in hindsight.

Having now seen the tactical nuances of Jaissle’s system, there is also an interesting question as to whether Woltemade could have been a useful asset in possession.

Vertical football is wonderful in principle, whether it be playing long or through the thirds, but it only really functions to its fullest extent if there is a focal point who can be played into, or who will be in the box for when those fast attacks result in balls into the box.

So far this season, Newcastle simply haven’t had that presence. Wissa started the season well but has since petered out and is mostly being used in the 10, where he is becoming increasingly ineffective.

Fernandez-Pardo has looked lively and never stops running, but he has yet to show anything close to the goalscoring prowess required to play at the number 9 in a side where chances haven’t exactly been throwing themselves at the Magpies.

What Woltemade was good at

When the German was actually playing up front at Newcastle on a regular basis, what he was good at was getting involved in build-up. Getting the ball to feet, using his quick thinking and technical ability to bring others into play and progress attacks.

That genuinely most commonly occurred when the Magpies were playing in transition, take the goal against Barcelona in the Champions League league phase for example. In theory, that would actually make him a better fit for Jaissle’s tactical outlook than first appears.

Woltemade also scored a chunk of his early goals at Newcastle by being in the box at the right time, the goal against Wolves springs to mind where he drifted off the shoulder of the defender and headed home beautifully. Coincidentally that instinct is something Newcastle seem to be quite heavily absent of at the minute.

Everything is a bit chaotic in almost all phases of play right now; could having a player like Woltemade who can get the ball under control and relax the tempo a little really be a bad thing? I certainly don’t think so.

Not a certainty

I would like to close out this piece by making it clear that I’m not saying the Magpies should definitely have kept Woltemade at the club this summer, nor that he would definitely change the fortunes in forward areas.

What I am saying is that, if his current goalscoring form continues whilst playing up front for Juventus, it won’t be long before questions begin to get much louder about whether allowing him to leave was the best thing to do.

Perhaps he would just be sitting on the bench unused if he was still playing his football on Tyneside, but at the current moment, it does feel incredibly harsh to have exiled Woltemade when he clearly has so much to offer when used in the right position.