Anonymity and Nick Woltemade were already well on the way to becoming strangers but, after this, there seems zero chance of the Germany striker ever being able to blend seamlessly into the background on Tyneside.
Given that Woltemade’s awkwardly angular 6ft 6in frame is topped by a curly mop of bright blond hair and his distinctive moustache screams 1970s rock star – or perhaps a shambolic yet brilliant television detective of the sort ideally suited to Death in Paradise – he was already hard to miss.
By the 29th minute here Newcastle’s record, £70m summer signing from Stuttgart, eliminated any prospect of invisibility by meeting Jacob Murphy’s cross and expertly dodging Emmanuel Agbadou. All that remained was for the new boy to cleverly, and powerfully, head the goal that would give Eddie Howe’s team their first win of the season.
“It felt amazing,” said the No 27 afterwards. “Everybody was happy, I was happy. The Premier League is hard but I want to adapt and the coach gave me such a good feeling, I knew what to do.”
Up until his goal Woltemade had displayed some deft footwork and pleasing touches but looked, understandably, a little nervous. With his socks halfway down his shins and his gait ungainly, it became clear Alexander Isak’s replacement is an unconventional sort of striker.
Happily for Newcastle unorthodox most certainly does not mean ineffective and as that bullet header whizzed past Sam Johnstone and all four sides of the ground sang Woltemade’s name there was a real sense of “Alexander who?”
Isak’s long, slow, painful £125m defection to Liverpool may have ruined Newcastle’s summer but, on this, admittedly early, evidence, the man dubbed “the two metre Messi” and “WolteWow” by Stuttgart supporters could yet illuminate their winter.
Much more a nine-and-a-half rather than a conventional No 9 Woltemade regularly dropped deep to gain possession and link play to highly promising effect.
The irony is that, had Yoane Wissa, Newcastle’s new £55m attacking buy from Brentford, not needed to consult a specialist about a knee injury sustained while on international duty with DR Congo last week, Woltemade would probably not have started.
Howe, who said he had “no updates” on Wissa’s knee, was thrilled to see the German rise to the challenge. “Nick’s very intelligent, very, very humble and a very good communicator. He understood everything we wanted him to do tactically,” said Howe. “It was great to see him scoring, he took his goal brilliantly; it was a very strong debut.”
Given that Wolves started extremely brightly it needed to be. Indeed with the impressive visiting right wing-back Hugo Bueno causing all sorts of problems as he succeeded in ruffling even Tino Livramento, Newcastle fans initially feared their side could drop further points.
Yet when Woltemade’s killer first touch cued up Jacob Murphy for a close range shot that Johnstone performed wonders to repel from point blank range and then as the German volleyed into the face of Yerson Mosquera, the gloom on the Gallowgate began easing.
While Howe was annoyed that Mosquera’s edge of the area, last man, foul on Harvey Barnes produced no penalty and no red card, Woltemade’s goal pierced the tension.
The latter’s gorgeous dinked pass to Barnes might have doubled the advantage but the winger had strayed offside and even as Murphy’s shot hit the back of the net it was clear it would not count.
The first half ended with the, once again, indomitable, and outstanding, Sandro Tonali thumping a left foot shot against a post but Vítor Pereira’s visitors appeared on a mission to collect their first point – or points of the season.
By the 65th minute the star home debutant was starting to struggle with cramp and it came as no surprise when the raising of the electronic board signalled his departure to a standing ovation.
Newcastle’s failure to extend their lead meant that, without Woltemade around, edginess re-entered the arena, both on an off the pitch.
Despite missing their injured key striker, and former Howe target, Jørgen Strand Larsen, Wolves remained far from out of things until the final whistle blew and Newcastle’s manager walked across the pitch arm in arm with the match winner.
If he had reason for relief that Strand Larsen’s achilles failed to heal in time for involvement here, he doubtless felt even happier that Woltemade was the striker he ended up with.
“Nick’s an unusual and very distinctive striker,” said Howe. “He’s also very funny; the lads have really taken to him.”
