Will Matthias Jaissle unlock Germany international Nick Woltemade at Newcastle United?
· Yahoo Sports
Dr. Constantin Eckner, one of Germany’s leading football journalists and tactical analysts, believes Nick Woltemade could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of Newcastle United’s managerial change. Eckner, who has covered German football for years and regularly analyzes the Bundesliga and German national team, believes Matthias Jaissle’s coaching philosophy could be a natural fit for the towering forward.
Speaking about how Woltemade could fit under Jaissle, Eckner believes the German forward’s intelligence and playing style make him well suited to the new manager’s approach.
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“I believe that the managerial change, which of course came very suddenly, wasn’t perfect for Matthias Jaissle to take charge only three weeks before the start of the Premier League season. Not perfect at all, actually, but I think Nick Woltemade might be a Jaissle player, in a sense, because Matthias Jaissle comes from the Red Bull school,” Eckner told Casino Guru via questions Bavarian Football Works. “He coached Red Bull Salzburg before he went to Saudi Arabia to coach Al Ahli, where he also won the AFC Champions League twice, so we shouldn’t forget that.
“He’s very much from the Red Bull school. Intensity is one of the key ingredients of Jaissle’s football – that Red Bull identity to an extent. Although he’s not like Ralf Rangnick, who is only focused on pressing and counter-pressing, you still see a lot of those Red Bull elements in the style of football his teams play. That’s why I believe Woltemade, with his football IQ, might actually work out well.”
Eckner, however, did warn that Woltemade might not be an exact fit for what Newcastle United wants from its striker position.
“The thing with Nick Woltemade — and I said this last year when he was signed by Newcastle — is that because he’s so tall, around 6ft 5in, you automatically think he’s the perfect Peter Crouch-type striker, but he actually isn’t. I mean, he has become decent in the air, but he’s actually more of a second striker. When you look at him, you naturally think, ‘Right, that’s a tall, lanky number nine waiting inside the box for crosses to come in.’ But he’s not like that, and I think that’s why the perception of Woltemade has always been a little bit skewed,” Eckner stated. “Also, at Newcastle, he played through the middle and you could see that he’s not the most clinical goalscorer.”
Eckner’s analysis challenges the perception many have of Woltemade. While his tall, gangly frame naturally invites comparisons to a traditional target man, the German is far more comfortable dropping into deeper areas, linking play, and creating opportunities for those around him. If Jaissle can maximize those qualities in his high-intensity system, Newcastle may finally unlock the version of Woltemade that has long impressed observers in Germany.
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