Newcastle United close bitter chapter avoiding Manchester United scrutiny with multi-million pound helping hand

With no striker for Eddie Howe to pick, Newcastle were winless. Callum Wilson had departed on a free transfer and Alexander Isak was refusing to play in order to force a move to Liverpool, which he finally got on deadline day.

Numerous striker targets – including Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko – opted against moving to St. James’ Park.

But then Nick Woltemade arrived for a club record £69m; the 23-year-old German has become a star during the last year at Stuttgart, and after fellow new signing Yoane Wissa was confirmed to be out with a knee injury, he was in line to start.

Nick Woltemade avoids Man United scenario with Newcastle debut winner

The excitement ahead of his impending debut was palpable. The sense of a fresh start was in the air.

Woltemade is arguably the most unique footballer in Europe. At 6ft 6in, it would be easy to assume he is a target man, but he's actually the furthest thing from it. Dubbed ‘Woltemessi’ in his homeland, he thrives with the ball at his feet, dropping into pockets of space and linking with the midfield and wide players. His quality is instantly evident; he didn’t dominate Wolves or bully them like Isak may have, there was subtlety to his brilliance.

Yet, the first goal he scored in front of his adoring fans – the winner no less - was a bullet header from a Jacob Murphy cross. Alan Shearer would have been proud of it; he took to X to say so.

In a world where every aspect of football is overanalysed and players are consistently labelled, Woltemade has shown there is so much more to him than meets the eye. Newcastle fans should get excited, and he is already settling into his new surroundings.

"It felt amazing, just all the fans, everybody was happy, I was happy,” he said after the game.

"I was a bit nervous before, but when the game starts, you concentrate on the pitch. We have a good team, an amazing club and stadium, good fans, good players and team spirit. I’ve only been here four days but I feel good here.

“We won, and I scored a goal so I am relaxed and feeling good. It takes some weeks [to settle]. I was made to feel welcome when I met the fans in the city; the club is really special. I’ve had so many clubs in my life but this feels really good.”

Woltemade is aware of the noise around him, the price tag on his head and perception of his abilities. He has worked hard on his game and is more capable of filling Isak’s goalscoring boots than he is perhaps being given credit for.

“I can’t control how much the club pays for me,” he added. “But I am really pleased the club has so much trust in me.

“I have worked on [my heading] a lot in the last weeks and months. A header always feels good as a striker, especially if you work on it every week.

“[Improving in front of goal] is part of the process, I keep working on it; now I am really happy that I’m scoring goals.”

At full-time, Howe and Woltemade embraced and were deep in discussion. The Newcastle boss knows how intense and demanding his approach is and usually prefers to give new signings a bedding in period.

Anthony Elanga, Aaron Ramsdale and Malick Thiaw all started on the bench, but circumstances dictated Woltemade be thrown in at the deep end. Howe’s faith paid off.

"It was a great moment for Nick. I was very pleased with how he played today,” he said.

"You saw his technical qualities that we've been discussing and his intelligence but most importantly for a striker, when the ball comes into the box, you need to be there and he was.

"It was a great finish. I'm really pleased for him personally because that just settles him down and relaxes him, he's a very humble guy, he wants to do well and he's delighted to be here -- I think it's a great start."

As Howe said, Woltemade opening his account so early is useful for any striker arriving at a new club with a hefty price tag. Performances and goal tallies will be easier to come by with the goalscoring monkey off his back, unlike the pressure which will continue to build on misfiring Manchester United trio Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Sesko, who have one goal between them this term.

It has been a harrowing summer for Newcastle in so many ways. Isak was the poster boy, not only of Howe’s exciting team but the entire Saudi Arabian-backed project. He scored the winner in a cup final and was expected to lead the club into a Champions League campaign with a real chance of making an impact.

His decision to abandon his legendary status on Tyneside and Liverpool’s ability to prise Newcastle’s star asset away against everybody’s wishes, were always going to be tough to recover from. But in Nick Woltemade, the Magpies have found the perfect closure to the Isak chapter.

He is a very different player and it is early days, but there are signs that he will become the hero thousands need for years to come.