Nick Woltemade has faced endless ups and downs after departing Newcastle United in the summer. Now, he finds himself in the middle of a crisis which is little of his doing.
Juventus fell to a disastrous 3-0 defeat to Lazio at home on Sunday. This came as one of their worst performances under Luciano Spalletti, whose future has been called into question in recent days.
Woltemade had come off the bench in the tie against the Rome side, days after scoring from open play against Celta Vigo in the Europa League. While the striker offered hope of revival, things are starting to look dark once again.
The player – unfairly so, has become the focus of attention.
Criticism growing, and unfairly so
On his Youtube channel, Journalist Massimo Tadorni spoke about the Bianconeri’s loss in Turin and he didn’t spare too many players.
He described the running of the club as a car without gas.
Tadorni said – via TuttoJuve: “They’ve gone through various experiences, various personalities. Now there’s Carnevali and Massara, to whom, incidentally, they gave a car without enough gas, because they didn’t invest enough money this year.”
Further, the journalist believes that apart from Kerim Alajbegovic, no player deserves to feature for the Old Lady.
“Certainly, apart from Alajbegovic in my opinion, there are no players who deserve to be at Juventus.”
He ended up ripping into the Newcastle United loanee, also taking shots at the German national team.
“Now they’re questioning Woltemade, who in my opinion is a peerless slacker, even though he’s a German international. On the other hand, there are slackers in the German national team too.”
He also urged Juve to look at players like Antonio Raimondo and Nicolo Tresoldi.
“Spalletti apparently wanted Kolo Muani at all costs, and it’s unclear why, with that kind of money, because he cost a lot, they couldn’t go and get this guy who plays in Germany, who scored three goals against Inter a few days ago, or the striker who’s at Frosinone, who’s owned by Bologna and who’s the top scorer.”
Calm and patience needed
If Juve are struggling for consistency, Woltemade is the last player to be blamed for it. He joined on deadline day and this should have seen him given time to settle in. Instead, he is being used as a target man and unrealistic expectations are piling up.
Sport Witness have tracked how Juve are already considering replacing him in January. They have plans of signing another striker who can be a target man.
The Newcastle United loanee has been mis-profiled. His usage suggests Juve never truly knew the type of player they were getting and that it was just a last minute swoop.
Given Woltemade has already played for Newcastle United and Juventus this season, FIFA rules dictate he couldn’t join a third club in January. Should the situation in Turin continue as it is, the Magpies should consider reintegrating the German into their squad in the winter window.
Senior club career stats
| Club | Years | Apps | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Werder Bremen | 2019–2024 | 51 | 2 | 0 |
| Elversberg (loan) | 2022–2023 | 32 | 10 | 3 |
| VfB Stuttgart | 2024–2025 | 36 | 18 | 3 |
| Newcastle United | 2025–present | 53 | 11 | 5 |
| Juventus (loan) | 2026–present | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 179 | 43 | 11 | |
competitions recorded by Opta. Regional cups, youth and reserve matches
excluded. Assists follow Opta definitions.
