- 1 hour ago
Newcastle United's summer-long pursuit for a centre-forward is finally over, with Nick Woltemade joining from Stuttgart for a club record £69m fee. But who is he? What does he do? And is he capable of being the man to replace Alexander Isak... if he too gets a move this summer.Adam Clery examines one of the most fascinating young talents in Europe and explains why Eddie Howe couldn't possibly have a better fit for his team.
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00:00Hi everyone, welcome to ACFC. It's finally happened. An entire summer of me preparing videos because I thought it was
00:08going to be a really exciting signing for Newcastle, Pedro, Cunha, Trafford and Bermot, Eketike, Sesko and with three days
00:16to go in the window they're going to break their transfer record on some top shagga they've not even been
00:23linked with.
00:24Not weeks and weeks of leaking information to bad faith actors in an attempt to unsettle a player just the
00:29first time you even hear about this. The bag is on his head, he is in the back of the
00:34van. Not only do we have our football back, we've also got Nick Waldemar, who is class.
00:46Right, so if the WhatsApp groups I'm personally in are anything to go on, first question, who the f*** is
00:51he?
00:51Well he's a 23 year old German international centre forward who's been a bit of a elite bloomer over there.
00:57He basically broke through at Werder Bremen the season before last and if you look at his minutes from then
01:02you can see primarily he was a backup for ages but when he did finally get into the team, while
01:07the goals didn't flow, his performances were sufficiently eye-catching to cement him in that 11 and get him a
01:14reasonably exciting move to Stuttgart.
01:16And it was again a similar story last season, he had to force his way into the side and then
01:20from late November he kicked on massively.
01:2412 goals in the last 24 games of the season which is bettered only by Harry Kane and Hugo Eketike
01:31so not bad.
01:33He also scored in every single round of the cup including this in the final and had everyone in Germany
01:38calling him Walter Messi, no really, after he dominated the under 21 Euros.
01:44That's Kike Salas there by the way and a Terby in goal who he just dinks it over and they
01:49are absolutely not shit.
01:51And he's just also absolutely massive, 6 foot 6 inches tall which is exactly the same as Kane.
01:59Not, sorry, not Harry Kane, obviously the get big scary red one from the wrestling back in the day.
02:05So yeah, it's obviously been quite an insane 2025 for him already but is he the man, das man, doorman,
02:11whatever, to fill the rather large Alexander Isak shaped hole in Newcastle's attack?
02:17Well, yes, actually, quite probably, if used correctly.
02:22So it's very easy to look at him and think, oh well, he's enormous, that's going to change how Newcastle
02:27play.
02:28Maybe they'll be a lot more direct in their play just to get it straight into him, maybe they'll encourage
02:32the wide players to stay wider, to better hand crosses up,
02:35maybe there'll be more of an expectation on the number 8s to box trash, to get around the chaos he
02:41causes but he is so much more than just a very large focal point.
02:45He's way more technically gifted than you would ever assume, like his touch is incredible, he drops out of the
02:51forward areas to link up play,
02:53he can go past a man very easily, he can lay on chances for others and only getting 2 assists
02:58last season is in no way a reflection of what he was actually doing in the box.
03:04Like if you look at the numbers, his actual key passes, his passes into the box and if you'll join
03:08me in a spot of nerdery,
03:10his expected assists were astoundingly high for a forward, the output just suffered as a result of very wasteful finishing
03:18on the part of his teammates.
03:20Like I watched him play against St. Pauli last season and don't look at me like that, right, it was
03:24like 3 days before Christmas,
03:26I was off work, it was nothing else on television, okay, and he laid on 2 or 3 absolutely golden
03:33chances for the team that just were not converted.
03:36Like they actually got beat 1-0 in that game, but he just bullied openings into existence.
03:41And that's because he is a player with a lot of what you would call gravity, his mere presence in
03:47the box or just outside of it,
03:48naturally attracts 2, sometimes 3 defenders towards him, which creates openings for other players to do things.
03:55Now you're right, yes, Isak does have exactly the same thing, Newcastle benefit from defenders being a little bit scared
04:00of him,
04:01but the difference is, you put 2, sometimes 3, sometimes 4 players on Vultimada, he really enjoys that,
04:07he bounces them around, he wants to play through them, and that's what makes these chances.
04:11Like these numbers for creating chances are absolutely fantastic.
04:15Stuttgart finished 9th last season and he's putting up comparable shot creating numbers to Salah, Foden, Diaz, Marmouche, Raffa Liao.
04:24So before you get into anything else, he's just an incredibly gifted footballer who's really going to benefit Newcastle in
04:30the phases where they have a lot of possession,
04:32but also is quick and direct enough that he'll be a massive asset to their counter-attacking play as well.
04:38In fact, if you look at his ball-carrying numbers, your head sort of falls off a little bit,
04:43because this is compared to the European top 5 leagues, by the way, this is not just the Bundesliga,
04:48and you would say he's arguably already in a really elite bracket for this stuff.
04:54He sees so much of the ball in a game, he carries it from deep into really dangerous areas,
04:59and look at the take-ons!
05:01Like, can you imagine getting skinned that easily by a guy who looks like he should be playing basketball?
05:06He'd retire?
05:07So just the very top line of all this for me is that despite how he might look,
05:11he's a seamless fit for everything that's currently good about Newcastle's attacking play.
05:16Like, he's good enough on the ball and a direct enough runner that he'll fit right in with that counter
05:21-attacking style they've got,
05:22but when they do have more settled possession, he will be able to drop in, he'll be able to link
05:27up play,
05:27and he'll really benefit the players around him.
05:30Like, I don't think he's an elite-level finisher yet, so replicating the goals from last season might be slightly
05:36difficult,
05:36but I think because he'll be around better players, the overall contributions will probably come out exactly where you want
05:44them to.
05:44And that's not to say he's not a good finisher, by the way.
05:47He went and bailed Stuttgart out in the cup the other week with an 89th-minute equaliser,
05:51with the most awkward-looking but incredibly well-executed finish I can remember seeing for a while.
05:57Like, first off, how do you control that ball with your body in that position,
06:01and then how do you dig that out with that much power with no backlift?
06:05Like, that's... I can't recall seeing a goal like that.
06:08Now, obviously, this is all great, and everybody just looks hot as f*** in the highlights, don't they?
06:14But the way I feel about this transfer is the same way I felt about them trying to get Benjamin
06:20Szczesko.
06:20He is an incredibly exciting player with this really, really high ceiling,
06:26but the worst thing you can do for a player like that is just immediately throw them in as an
06:32automatic starter,
06:33and then need them to pick up the burden of 20-plus league goals.
06:38Vultimard's biggest assets are that, against the defences he's been playing against,
06:42he is quicker, and he is stronger, and in many respects, a lot smarter,
06:47and that is not going to be the case from day one in the Premier League.
06:52Defenders he would previously just chuck around like an empty tracksuit are all of a sudden going to be matching
06:57him,
06:57and those extra yards of space he was going to get on the turn are going to be a lot
07:01harder to come by.
07:01It's going to take him time, might be short, might be long, but time nonetheless to get up to those
07:06levels.
07:07And not to make a direct comparison to Isak here, but it was the same for him.
07:11Injuries played a part, yes, but in his first season he featured in considerably fewer games than Callum Wilson
07:18and scored half as many goals.
07:20There was a lot of expectation on him, yes, because of the fee,
07:22but there wasn't the pressure that normally goes with it because of Callum Wilson.
07:27And in the end, this was a really solid return.
07:29For a 23-year-old, moving to a big, scary new league, who had to adapt to it?
07:36Do you see what I am saying?
07:38The parallels are paralleling.
07:40Newcastle need to have the exact same approach here with Volta Marder,
07:44and the only way they can do that is if there's another centre forward in the team who can get
07:49you goals.
07:50Like, don't get me wrong, he might just smash it from day one.
07:53This might be me being overly cautious, but when you make an investment on this scale,
07:58which Newcastle can't do flippantly, you have to do everything you can to protect it.
08:03But here is one thing that really does give me a lot of hope for him, right?
08:06Because what is the one non-negotiable to be a regular player in Eddie Howe's Newcastle United?
08:14No, it's not being handsome, it's just a bonus, all right?
08:17It's work rate, it's graft, it's commitment.
08:20Volta Marder loves to drop in with the play, right?
08:23You can see it here from his heat map.
08:25This is so much involvement in the rest of the pitch.
08:27Just to prove that to you, again, I'm going to use the I word, this is Isaks by comparison.
08:32And he does drop in, he does get involved.
08:34He doesn't just hang on the shoulder of the last defender,
08:36but you compare that to Volta Marder and you'll see the levels he goes to to get involved in a
08:41game.
08:42And on top of the point of him just being excellent technically,
08:44what that also tells you is that he's not afraid to get into the mix.
08:48He loves the battle, he loves to compete.
08:50He likes to get his hands dirty for the benefit of his team.
08:54And the numbers there are really encouraging too, like the blocks, the shots blocked, the tackles.
08:58These are not the numbers of a pure high presser.
09:02That's maybe the one part of his game Eddie Howe's going to have to work to develop.
09:05But they do say this is a man who will give you everything,
09:09will put his body on the line, who will not let his teammates down.
09:12And that is effectively the defining characteristic of this football team.
09:17So even if, as I expect, the goals are a little hard to come by initially,
09:21I think Newcastle fans will take to him incredibly, incredibly quickly.
09:26Because he's graceful, he's beautiful, he's excellent on the ball.
09:28What a player to watch play football.
09:30But also, he can be a total bastard.
09:33Oh and also, if this just isn't enough for you, my friend Max is German.
09:37And I was in the pub with him literally last night when this got announced.
09:40And he told me this.
09:42Think of a Berbatov, touch is unreal, gravity is different.
09:47Combine it with a bit of a, he was a closer, who's always there when you need him.
09:51And a bit of a, I'm daughter like Thomas Muller.
09:54You know, like a box of prelims.
09:56You open, you don't know what you're going to get.
09:57Bayern Munich wanted him, they didn't get him.
09:59And that's a big fucking time.
10:01Bayern Munich has not gotten him.
10:03And Bayern Munich gets everyone.
10:05Give him time and you have another BFG, a big fucking German.
10:09So yes, there you go.
10:10I'm not in the know, but I do at least have some mates.
10:14So, we're Newcastle fans, what's over this has been.
10:18So please let me know how you're feeling about it in the comments.
10:20Do you see him as the guaranteed starter?
10:23Should he go straight in?
10:24Are you giving him the number nine in your little head?
10:26Or do we need a Visser?
10:28Do we need a Watkins?
10:29Do we need a Jackson?
10:29Do we need somebody else to relieve him of the stress of goal scoring?
10:34All thoughts, all feelings, poetry, verse.
10:36Just let your heart sing true in the comments below.
10:38I love to read it all.
10:39And you can get me across all the social medias at Adam Cleary, C-L-E-R-Y.
10:43Now, one quick thing, because there's been so much going on.
10:46Mind you that you're getting battered by Grimsby, the gone at you thing.
10:49I'm going to have to put this out on the weekend.
10:51It's probably going to be Saturday or Sunday when this goes out.
10:53And YouTube tell you that is the death slot.
10:56So if you've made it all the way to the end of this video and you've enjoyed it and you're
10:59feeling generous, this is one video I would really appreciate a share on.
11:04Because the Algo ain't going to help me and I'd rather it didn't just wither and die.
11:09So from me to you, if you can't be bothered and you have enjoyed it, tell your friends.
11:15But yes, that's it.
11:16So until next time, which does increasingly feel like it's going to be a video about how
11:19Liverpool set up with their new centre forward.
11:23I'll see you next time.
11:24Goodbye.
11:25See you later.
11:26Ta-ra.
11:27Au reen zin.
11:29Pet.
11:29Let's do it.
11:30Bye.