“That bothers me”
Goalless series: Woltemade defends itself against criticism
April 2, 2026 – 10:54 amReading time: 2 minutes
The DFB striker has been waiting for his next success at club level for weeks – and is repeatedly exposed to attacks. Now he has reacted.
Nick Woltemade has been waiting for a Premier League goal for Newcastle United since December 20th. The German international had a strong start to the season with five goals in his first eight competitive games – but then only scored five more times for the “Magpies” in 37 games across all competitions. It is not without reason that the attacker, who moved from VfB Stuttgart to Newcastle for 75 million euros last summer, is increasingly criticized.
But now the 24-year-old has clearly defended himself. “Annoyance is perhaps saying too much, but it does bother me,” said Woltemade in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” about the criticism of his performances. And further explained: “I’m currently playing half left or half right in a five-man midfield and would like to be judged according to this profile.” What’s more: “If someone accuses me of having a form crisis, I would simply say that they don’t see many Newcastle United games.”
For him, this is “still a normal process.” He understands: “Of course you could look at it from the outside and say: He only scored one goal in the new year (in the 3-1 win in the 4th round of the FA Cup at Aston Villa, editor’s note), what’s going on with him?” However: “But anyone who really looks at my games knows why that is the case.”
Woltemade explained how Newcastle coach Eddie Howe is currently using him: “In the recent game against Chelsea, I played a kind of man-marking against Cole Palmer in midfield, and he’s an attacking ten. You can imagine the spaces I was in on the field.” And further: “I know that I’m associated with goals, but you can’t compare the scoring rate of a striker with that of a midfielder who plays 50, 60, 70 meters from the opponent’s goal.” He is “a completely different Nick Woltemade at the moment than I was at the beginning of the season. At the moment I should be judged more on how I lead my duels or secure the spaces.”
However, he is “completely relaxed, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to expand my repertoire.” He is “convinced that learning to deal with phases like this will make me stronger in the long run.”
