TYNE FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

Howe hails his 'unusual striker'

- BY IAN MURTAGH

EDDIE HOWE calls him “an unusual striker" and there's certainly little orthodox about Nick Woltemade.

He’s big though not powerful, lithe but lacks pace and while his Toon debut would suggest otherwise, at 6ft 6in, the German admits his heading ability is distinctly average.

The Magpies’ £69m record buy looks more 80s Europop singer than Premier League hit-man.

With socks and mini-shin pads almost around his ankles and hands often concealed by an ill-fitting long-sleeved top, Woltemade’s appearance hardly strikes fear into opponents.

And then the game starts and he bamboozles defenders with his flicks, his silky touch and his football intelligence.

Within 15 minutes of the first whistle, a flummoxed Emmanuel Agbadou was seeking advice from the visitors’ dugout as to whether marking duties meant following the striker deep into Toon territory.

For Woltemade’s coalface is different to most of his peers. Like Harry Kane, he wants to turn and face his adversaries and if that means hovering just outside the Newcastle box to gain possession, then so be it.