Nick Woltemade Joins Juventus on Loan: Newcastle's Forward Transition

Nick Woltemade is in black and white again, but it is not the St James’ Park version.

The German forward has swapped Tyneside for Turin on loan, yet he remains firmly in the thoughts of Newcastle United head coach Matthias Jaissle, who made it clear this week that distance will not dull the connection.

Jaissle revealed he had wished his countryman well before the move to Juventus was completed, telling him he had his fingers crossed because the striker “deserves to be playing and performing well”.

“I really appreciate Nick as a player for his quality on the pitch but, also, I appreciate him as a human being and his quality off the pitch,” Jaissle said. “We always had good conversations, really honest conversations. He desired to take another challenge in a top league as well with a top club.

“We will monitor him and look and see him quite closely. I'm really curious how he's doing and I'm really optimistic he will shine there. He will score a lot of goals there, for sure. He's still our player so we will stay in close contact.”

While one forward headed out, another finally arrived.

On deadline day, Newcastle landed long-time target Matias Fernandez-Pardo in a £51.4m deal from Lille, a move that underlined where Jaissle wants to take this team. The rapid, versatile attacker fits the high-tempo, aggressive style the head coach is trying to embed and offers options across the front line.

The signing gives Jaissle the flexibility to tweak his system from game to game, tailoring his set-up to the opponent without sacrificing threat in behind. Fernandez-Pardo’s pace changes the geometry of a pitch in an instant; defenders will not be able to hold such a high line with the 21-year-old lurking.

There is a caveat. It has been some time since Fernandez-Pardo completed a full 90 minutes, and the Premier League’s pace and physicality punish anyone short of rhythm. Newcastle know he may need a short bedding-in period before he can carry the load week after week.

Jaissle, though, has tracked him too long to have doubts about the bigger picture.

“We have followed him for a long time,” he said. “Also I did before I joined Newcastle because he's an outstanding player. For his age, there's a lot of potential and I'm looking forward to supporting him to fulfil that.”

So Woltemade chases goals in Turin, Fernandez-Pardo chases space on Tyneside, and Jaissle stands in the middle, convinced both forwards can define what Newcastle become next.