Zero-to-hero Woltemade sends clear Newcastle message ...Middle East

ST JAMES’ PARK — Nick Woltemade hammered the badge on his black and white shirt and pointed to the crowd.

He’d just scored the second of two goals that capped what Eddie Howe believed was his “best” performance as a Newcastle player, a mightily encouraging display that speaks volumes for the quality and character of the Germany striker.

An own goal at Sunderland last week – the nadir of a very ordinary performance – could have sent his Newcastle career one of two ways. It certainly invited fresh scrutiny of Woltemade and the summer recruitment process that opted to invest a club record fee on a player who does not appear to fit easily into Howe’s system.

But here was the reason why he is worth persevering with: Woltemade is good now but just imagine what he can become with time, patience and a willingness from Howe to fashion an attacking plan around his unique talent.

Sources suggest he was signed to help transition Newcastle into something different from leaning into heavy metal football every week, but he had Chelsea rocking and rolling in the first half.

With the celebration his message was clear and his point a very good one. Newcastle remain stronger when they’re united.

“The celebration was a thank you to the fans,” he said afterwards. It is a week since Woltemade, in the heat of a scrappy, ugly Wear-Tyne derby, diverted a Nordi Mukiele cross past his own goalkeeper to inflict a damaging defeat on this curious Newcastle side.

In that time he says his Instagram page has “blown up” with supportive messages from fans. And then there was Wednesday night, when he was cheered onto the pitch by a sold-out St James’ Park and the decibels were turned up on his song.

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“It’s not normal that they respond like this,” he said. “You hope for it of course but it is amazing. You could see I had confidence on Saturday and part of that was because of the reaction of the supporters. You could see – if you’re good with a player, they are good back.”

After a week in which discontent threatened to simmer at St James’ Park, the sentiment makes a lot of sense. Newcastle’s inconsistency may be infuriating but there are plenty of reasons why howling for change makes little sense.

For a start they did so much right against Chelsea. Watching the first 45 minutes was like seeing a light flicked back on, such was their pressing, power and poise against a team with the ability to carve anyone open.

There was Lewis Miley, looking wonderfully accomplished in a position he’d only played one full game in before, and Anthony Gordon back to the sort of scintillating best that would earn him a World Cup starting berth.

But there was also Woltemade, harassing and harrying and looking re-energised for dropping out of the team in midweek. His two goals have taken him to seven in 14 Premier League starts. It is as many as Alexander Isak had got at the same stage of last season.

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Of course there are still issues to solve. This was another winning position squandered for Newcastle – they have coughed 11 points this term – and you could argue that substitutes arrived too late.

Anthony Elanga, the big hope in the summer, was ineffectual again off the bench. But they probably deserved to win this one and had Andy Madley and VAR Peter Bankes not inexplicably denied them a penalty, they probably would have done.

Like Woltemade, Newcastle are worth sticking with.

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