Howe Praises Woltemade After Scoring On Dream Newcastle Debut Against Wolves

‎Newcastle United manager, Eddie Howe, praised Nick Woltemade after the German striker scored on his debut to seal a 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

‎Woltemade, brought in to replace Alexander Isak following the Swede’s record move to Liverpool, struck with a powerful header from Jacob Murphy’s cross in the first half.

‎The goal ended Newcastle’s three-match winless run and boosted the mood at St James’ Park. Howe praised Woltemade’s impact as the club earned its first Premier League win of the season.

‎Howe praised the 23-year-old former Stuttgart forward for quickly adapting to the rigours of the English top flight. Newcastle brought in Woltemade two days before deadline day in a club-record deal worth 69 million pounds ($93.54 million).

‎”It was great to see Nick score on his debut. Very strong, I was very pleased with him. Tactically he understood what we wanted. It was a shift for him; he had cramps at the end. He took his goal brilliantly,” Howe told BBC Sport.

‎Another new signing, winger Yoane Wissa, is awaiting his Newcastle debut after sustaining a knee injury while on international duty with DR Congo earlier this week.

‎Woltemade looked like a natural fit with Newcastle’s existing frontline, combining well with Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy on the wings against Wolves.

‎Asked whether Woltemade and Wissa could combine well in attack, Howe said, “It’s something we can do and we will look at. I don’t know if we want to change the tactical framework too much but I’ll never rule anything out.”

‎Woltemade’s goal rewarded Newcastle after they survived an early barrage, with Nick Pope saving brilliantly from Rodrigo Gomes and Hwang Hee-chan inside the opening minute before Murphy twice went close at the other end.

‎”I thought we played pretty well after the first five minutes. The fact that we haven’t won a game puts more pressure on you in the latter stages,” Howe said.

‎”The win was all that mattered but we’d love to win in a better style and score more goals. We are defending well as a team.”

‎Newcastle, buoyed by their first victory of the season, will host Barcelona in their Champions League opener on Thursday.