Nick Woltemade praises Eddie Howe and likens Newcastle to Gelsenkirchen | OneFootball

One would be hard pressed to find a German footballer who had a better 2025 calendar year than current Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade. When 2025 began, the now 23-year-old wasn’t even on VfB Stuttgart’s Champions League squad and had scored only four Bundesliga goals during the 2024 phase of the season. 

In December 2024, Woltemade was appraised to be a €7.5m-valued player. One DFB Pokal victory, one successful summer representing both Germany and and the Germany U21s, a headline-grabbing summer transfer saga, and a blockbuster move to Newcastle later, Woltemade is a €70m-valued striker considered to be among the world’s elite. 

Woltemade’s €75m transfer to the Magpies this summer was greeted by suspicion from some. The Bremen-native has effectively silenced all of his critics with six goals for club and four tallies for country this year. Woltemade – who has always considered him comfortable on the Tyne – offered up his latest thoughts on his new home in an interview with the Wednesday print edition of Sport Bild.

Woltemade’s thoughts on 2025

“It’s been crazy, the best year of my life! ” Woltemade told Sport Bild. “So many things have happened that I can’t help but forget some of them. There were so many situations I’ve never experienced before. Some challenges were conquered. Others not. I was under a lot of pressure for a while. That’s why this year was also a great learning experience for me. Experiencing something like this is not something to be taken for granted. In general, I can take a lot from it for my life both as a footballer and a person.”

Woltemade on his failed Bayern transfer

“When I realized that it probably wasn’t going to work out, I told myself to let it be,” Woltemade said. “Everything in life has a purpose. The perfect example of this is the failed Bayern transfer: I’m now really happy to be in Newcastle. That wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Looking back, I’m happy that it turned out this way. I believe that everything happens for a reason.“

Woltemade on settling in at Newcastle

“[What they’ve done for me] scores 10 on a scale of 10,” Woltemade noted. “I always tell people who aren’t familiar with English football: Newcastle is like Gelsenkirchen. FC Schalke is the big name in its region for many people. And that’s precisely the same in Newcastle. I’m a player who needs to feel comfortable in order to perform. That’s the case in Newcastle.

“After every game, I have my own individual video session with the head coach and striker coach, during which we discuss things I can change or do better,” Woltemade continued.”On a personal level, I would compare Eddie to Basti [Stuttgart head coach Sebastian Hoeneß] or [former SV Elversberg mentor] Horst [Steffen]. They are not just football coaches. They also know how to lead a team and deal with personalities.“

GGFN | Peter Weis