Nick Woltemade admits he is unhappy following difficult first season at Newcastle United

Newcastle United launched a Hail Mary bid to replace Alexander Isak last summer, signing Nick Woltemade from VfB Stuttgart for £69m.

Eddie Howe also brought in Yoane Wissa for £55m, and neither forward exactly set the Premier League alight with goals last season.

While Wissa had a bad injury that set him back, Woltemade had come from an entirely different style of play and struggled to adapt. That was mostly down to the lack of time to train properly with the group thanks to Newcastle's European commitments.

It felt like Eddie Howe didn't have a clue how to get the best out of the German international either, and would often deploy him in a deeper role, which obviously didn't help him to get on the score sheet.

Nick Woltemade had a very up-and-down season

Once Newcastle dropped out of the cup competitions and got their midweeks back for training, we could see a visible improvement in how Nick Woltemade was playing, almost back to his best form in his first few games. 

Despite a tough season, the striker still managed to make it into Julian Nagelsmann's World Cup squad, and while out in America ahead of the competition getting underway, Woltemade has spoken to Stern (via Fussball Transfers), where he's touched on last season and how he wasn't happy with how things panned out. Fortunately, he's not giving up on Newcastle.

“I’m expected to score or provide an assist in every game. But if I’m not playing in attack, it’s much more difficult for me to get into dangerous scoring positions.

“Of course, I’m not happy with how things have gone in the past few months. Especially since my start at Newcastle was so strong. That raised expectations, including for myself.

“I moved to the Premier League at 23, the best league in the world. I’ve learned a lot this season. I’ve improved athletically, I can keep up with the tremendous pace. I can hold my own in challenges. 

“Overall, it’s been a step forward. That’s why I have no doubts about Newcastle. I’ll make my mark there.”

Eddie Howe needs to restore Nick Woltemade to striker

We've said plenty of times now that we expect to see a very different Woltemade next season. With a full pre-season schedule behind him, and hopefully with some restored confidence from playing at the World Cup, we hope to see him better integrated into the side.

In his first few games, it looked like we'd bagged a bargain, but then he went off the boil. He started to show that promise again towards the end of the season, albeit in a deeper role, but it's clear there's a very talented player there.

He is here to score goals, however, and Eddie Howe would do well to remember that and restore him back to his rightful place as a centre forward and work on ways to get him on the ball more. That's where he excels.