Hansi Flick ‘surprised’ by one Newcastle star who has ‘increased his level’ recently
Newcastle United are gearing up to face Barcelona in their first Champions League game of the season.
Yoane Wissa is injured for the clash, but will miss fewer games for Newcastle United due to the international break.
In his absence, Eddie Howe will be relieved to see Nick Woltemade making an immediate impact for the Toon.
Woltemade came off early on his debut, but will be hoping to get more than 65 minutes against Barcelona after more training in the tank and a debut goal for his confidence.
Alan Shearer has already given Woltemade his seal of approval as the next star striker leads the line for Newcastle United.
Hansi Flick is surprised by how good Nick Woltemade is
Hansi Flick has been preparing his Barcelona players to face Newcastle in the Champions League tonight and admits that, while he was aware of the German, he didn’t realise how good Woltemade really is.
In his pre-match press conference, Flick said: “To be honest, I didn’t know [Woltemade] all that well.
“I followed some matches, I saw some matches, so I was really surprised about how he increased his level.
“And of course, I think here in Premier League, it’s a good option for every club, so I’m happy [for him].
“We’ll see how he improves and I think he has a lot of potential to improve. Of course in the Premier League he will have to improve to play day by day, and this is the most important thing.
“I’m really happy with Germany. We now have a really good No. 9, and it’s good for all of us.”
Woltemade is tailor-made for the Premier League
Last season, Woltemade scored 17 goals for Stuttgart and also provided three assists for his teammates.
While he wasn’t Newcastle United’s first choice striker by a long distance, he’s their best current option. The 23-year-old already made his mark at St. James’ Park with a towering header to score on his Premier League debut against Wolves.
If the underlying numbers tell the full story, Woltemade is tailor-made for the Premier League. With shades of Peter Crouch about him, the Bremen-born striker stands at 6′ 6″ but has the technical ability and, somehow, the agility to dance around defenders.
Looking at his Fbref profile, it’s no surprise that he was on Newcastle’s shortlist, even if they would have preferred Benjamin Sesko.
Newcastle want their striker in the box as much as possible, and Woltemade ranks in the 99th percentile for touches in the attacking area (8.41 per 90) and in the 89th percentile for progressive passes received (7.49 per 90).
Perhaps the most enviable trait for a Premier League striker is one that is self-sufficient. Woltemade is in the 96th percentile for shot-creating actions, averaging 4.18 per game, and that could be crucial against Barcelona.