Nick Woltemade made his Juventus debut on Sunday night, just days after being told he could leave Newcastle United. The Germany international, loaned out last week, came off the bench in the final 15 minutes and helped stage a comeback after Juventus trailed 1-0 to AC Milan, with the game ending all square.
During his cameo, Woltemade had nine touches and managed one shot on goal, with the effort sailing over the top. He made a nuisance of himself in the box and drew a couple of fouls as Milan tried to shackle him late on. His presence was evident as a ball floated in eventually dropped to Federico Gatti, who powered home a header to steal a point in the 93rd minute.
Playing to His Strengths
Veteran coach Luciano Spalletti has vowed to play to Woltemade's strengths, and a series of balls into the box were aimed for the 6ft 6in striker. However, as Newcastle's backroom team found out last season, Woltemade prefers the ball to his feet.
In Italian sports paper La Gazzetta dello Sport, they reserved judgement on Woltemade, at least until autumn. Their report read: "Woltemade, at least, was dangerous in 14 minutes plus injury time with a left-footed shot worthy of a No 9. Maybe it's a sign, maybe not: the fall will tell."
In Tutto Sport, Woltemade earned a six in the player ratings. A passage in the Turin-based daily read: "A decent 15 minutes, spent mostly jostling to create space for his team-mates."
Emotional Reaction and Future Plans
Woltemade's body language was telling after contributing to his team fighting back from Alphadjo Cisse's opener. He joined in the celebrations with Juventus fans as he screamed into the Turin air at the end of the game. That release looked very much like a release of frustration, given that up until only last weekend, Woltemade thought he was going to be part of Matthias Jaissle's plans at Newcastle.
Juventus sit seventh in Serie A and face Sassuolo away in their next fixture. Spalletti said after the game: "In these kinds of matches, you can’t ask for permission. You don’t wait to be invited - you have to go there and take what you deserve. That’s what we need to do if we want to keep raising our level."
Spalletti said on Woltemade: "We think Woltemade can give us something: he's physical, technical, we've only just met him this week, but he can give us a hand."
Seeing Woltemade paired with a striker was rare at Newcastle, and in the second half of last season he was used as a deep-lying player under Eddie Howe. There was a suggestion that Woltemade could be used in a front two with 6ft 2in Frenchman Kolo Muani. Spalletti said: "Can they play together? Yes, he needs to get fit, but Kolo Muani will still play in the next match."
