Nick Woltemade's Journey: From Criticism to First Goal at Juventus
Nick Woltemade had barely settled into his stride when Luciano Spalletti went public with a challenge – and a promise.
Minutes before the German striker finally opened his Juventus account in a 5-0 Europa League demolition of NEC Nijmegen, Spalletti laid out his stance with unusual clarity. Woltemade, he said, was still a work in progress.
“He was not particularly fit when he arrived. He still needs to be built up. We have to let him play. He and Kolo Muani can also play together,” the Juve coach explained, before adding the key line: “But during the game I need a real alternative in attack.”
On the pitch, his words were answered in full.
Woltemade, starting for the first time since his summer loan move from Newcastle United, converted a penalty to make it 3-0. Later, Randal Kolo Muani came off the bench and struck the fifth. Two strikers under scrutiny, two first goals of the season, one emphatic response.
From criticism to catharsis
The goal meant more than a routine strike in a European group game. In Italy, Woltemade had already been singled out after Juventus’ first defeat of the season, a 3-2 loss to US Sassuolo. The reaction was harsh.
“He still has a lot to learn and must get used to the level of the Italian league,” wrote La Gazzetta dello Sport, summing up a mood that had quickly turned sceptical around the 24-year-old.
Spalletti had seemed to back that assessment with his team selections. After the Sassuolo defeat, he indicated little would change for Woltemade in the short term. The message was blunt: reach the necessary fitness level first, then the minutes will come.
Against Nijmegen, the picture shifted. Woltemade stayed on for 83 minutes, a clear sign of trust and a crucial step in his search for sharpness with Atalanta Bergamo looming on Sunday.
The defining moment came in the 35th minute. Nico Gonzalez, the Argentinian with a past at VfB Stuttgart, picked up the ball before the penalty and made a point of handing it straight to Woltemade. He pressed it into the German’s hands, ruffled his hair, and stepped away.
Spalletti applauded on the touchline. The rest of the team mobbed Woltemade when the ball hit the net. A small detail, but a big statement: this was a group intent on lifting a teammate under pressure.
Club form, country call
While Juventus were dismantling Nijmegen, another storyline quietly unfolded around Woltemade. On the very day he scored his first goal for the club, Jürgen Klopp named him in Germany’s second squad for the upcoming Nations League fixtures against Serbia on 1 October and Greece on 4 October.
The timing was striking. Woltemade had already been part of Julian Nagelsmann’s World Cup squad, but his move to Newcastle for more than 75 million euros had not delivered the expected platform. Game time was scarce in the Premier League, and his status remained complicated even after the arrival of German coach Matthias Jaissle at the Magpies.
Talks with VfB Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeneß had taken place, yet no solution emerged there either. The loan to Juventus followed, a reset in Serie A and Europe for a forward whose development had stalled.
Now Spalletti has a decision to make. He can act on his own words and start Woltemade alongside Kolo Muani as a twin threat, or he can wait until after the extended international break, banking on an even more confident and physically ready striker returning from duty with Germany.
For Woltemade, the equation is simple. He finally has minutes, a goal, and a coach willing to build around his potential. The next question is whether he can turn one cathartic night against Nijmegen into a permanent place in the Juventus attack – and a lasting role in Klopp’s plans for Germany.
