Nick Woltemade can still make a success of his Newcastle United career when he returns from his loan at Juventus, according to former Liverpool, Tottenham and Germany defender Christian Ziege. Ziege believes the striker's club-record £69million move from Stuttgart came too soon.
Early promise and struggles
Woltemade scored nine goals in his opening three months at St James' Park, but the goals dried up and questions were raised about his suitability for the Premier League under then-manager Eddie Howe. Howe tried him in midfield and as a number 10, but the experiment did not pay off.
Matthias Jaissle, who succeeded Howe, faced similar struggles during pre-season and the opening weeks of the campaign, and Woltemade was eventually loaned to Juventus.
Mixed fortunes in Turin
At Juventus, Woltemade has yet to score in eight Serie A appearances, but he has recorded a goal or an assist in all four Europa League matches. On Thursday, he was dropped from the Germany squad by Jurgen Klopp.
Ziege told Boyle Sports: "It's a bit of a pity for Woltemade. Matthias Jaissle is a fantastic coach who proved himself in Austria and Germany. Woltemade is another example of a player who had one good season at Stuttgart before moving straight to Newcastle and it looks like it was too soon."
A different story on return
Ziege added: "Performing consistently for three seasons before a big move is very different from moving after just one. The Premier League is tough for strikers, and things didn't quite work out for him there. Now he's on loan at Juventus and Serie A can be even tougher for strikers. Perhaps he should have stayed to work under Jaissle at Newcastle, but if he returns from loan to work with him later, it could be a different story."
Ziege concluded: "Let's hope that everything is going in the right direction for both Woltemade at Juventus and then maybe later for Newcastle."
