Nick Woltemade's potential Napoli loan shouldn't be seen as a risk by Newcastle

[p]The towering German began his time on Tyneside looking as if he could become the new folk hero at St. James' Park, but his shortcomings were soon in evidence, and by the end of the 2025/26 season, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/howe-eddie/hbOpz9hE/"]Eddie Howe[/a] had stopped naming him as a starter.[/p][infobox id="c5ce5f5a-ccb6-468f-9fce-bb4a330c372a" /][h2]Just 11 goals in 51 games[/h2][p]Indeed, the 24-year-old, who cost the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/newcastle-utd/p6ahwuwJ/"]Magpies[/a] £69m just 12 months ago, let's not forget, made only seven full 90-minute appearances across the campaign in all competitions.[/p][p]Evidently, the Premier League remains one of the toughest leagues in which to really make your mark, even if a player arrives there having ripped it up in any one of the other European leagues.[/p][image alt="Nick Woltemade - Premier League goals 2025/26" id="1402dd92-f1a9-43b2-8c13-b9b796715420" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="57a27115-8eea-4888-a38b-833ddd3a570e" original-width="2160" original-height="2702" /][p]The mixture of physicality and the fast pace of games has often quickly found out those players who clearly think it'll be a breeze.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/woltemade-nick/4YDUd1at/"]Woltemade[/a]'s 11 goals and four assists from 51 games in all competitions might be said to be reasonable enough, but a one-in-five ratio for a player costing that much was never going to match up to Newcastle's expectations of their new signing.[/p][h2]Consistently beaten in the air despite being 6ft 6in[/h2][p]Perhaps if other elements to his game were advantageous, a lack of goals whilst he got used to his new surroundings would've been acceptable.[/p][p]A shot conversion rate as low as 8.33% in the Champions League, rising to just 25% in the Premier League, ultimately did him no favours either.[/p][p]Of the 49 shots taken during the season - less than one per game - only 19 of them were on target, and whilst he had 18 headers at goal, despite being 6ft 6in, he still got just seven of those on target.[/p][embed guid="0b5d61d7-2def-4c9e-997e-57333dd4ae9d" url="https://x.com/premierleague/status/1974916247377817652?lang=en" social-type="twitter" /][p]When he scored a penalty not long into his Magpies career, social media was ablaze with positive comment after footage of the spot-kick did the rounds.[/p][p]It indeed was one of the better penalties taken by any player, so it's interesting to understand why he never took another after that.[/p][h2]Lack of confidence in his ability?[/h2][p]Oddly enough, despite a clear lack of striking prowess in the Champions League, it was in that competition where he recorded his best pass completion stat of 91.67%.[/p][p]The bread and butter of the Premier League was a different story, as Woltemade's best showing was just 76.3%.[/p][p]The winning back of possession on 88 separate occasions is a fair amount, though the German did himself no favours again by lacking in the very parts of his game in which he excelled at his previous clubs.[/p][image alt="Nick Woltemade - Recent player ratings" id="c04cae0e-61fb-4fa0-956f-25065c950de7" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="f94f99a3-3ccd-4751-a6d2-380f2152e52e" original-width="2160" original-height="2702" /][p]For example, he should've been winning the vast majority of his headed duels, and yet of the 139 which he attempted, he was outmuscled in 83 of them.[/p][p]In terms of his ground one-on-ones, just 148 were won from his 383 contested. For a player whose physical attributes had long been known, that poor showing would appear to suggest a lack of confidence, as there's simply no other explanation as to why his figures would've been so low.[/p][h2]Napoli could offer Woltemade a season-long loan deal[/h2][p]Although defensive actions were never really his forte, Woltemade did win 18 of the 33 tackles he attempted, albeit that's scant consolation for the lack of work ethic and excellence in the other areas of his game.[/p][p]With the transfer window still open for a few days, help may be at hand for both player and club, as reports note that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/napoli/69Dxbc61/"]Napoli[/a] have enquired about taking the player on a loan deal for the season.[/p][embed guid="2eb7727f-8bfe-4d56-8253-6ad38b072850" url="https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/2092994872332403136" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lukaku-romelu/dCkG0Iw0/"]Romelu Lukaku[/a] has moved from the Partnopei to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/fenerbahce/MsbmracL/"]Fenerbahce[/a], so there is definitely room for Woltemade to try his luck in Serie A. That said, he has to do an awful lot better than he has on Tyneside if he wants to be accepted by the tifosi.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hojlund-rasmus/0lk9Mt7D/"]Rasmus Hojlund[/a], who made the move to Napoli after a disappointing stint at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-united/ppjDR086/"]Manchester United[/a], has been reborn in Naples, and that's a blueprint for the German to follow were he to do the same.[/p][image alt="Nick Woltemade - Career numbers" id="086e08e2-5d9e-43f0-8670-3bb63a86028e" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="71e9f18f-3a88-4c6e-b4d8-9fbbd6eb7dc9" original-width="2160" original-height="2702" /][p]Although Napoli have also made tentative enquiries about [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chelsea/4fGZN2oK/"]Chelsea[/a] outcast [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/guiu-marc/80tpt7hc/"]Marc Guiu[/a], Woltemade, despite his evident failings at Newcastle, is likely to be a better striking proposition than the 20-year-old Spaniard.[/p][p]Guiu has made just 39 appearances in his senior career since debuting for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a] in 2023/24 and scoring with his second-ever touch in professional football, just 33 seconds after making his debut (one of only 12 goals scored in his career).[/p][infobox id="8a8311c3-81b3-440e-8b49-36091db073d1" /]