Nick Woltemade's Juventus Breakthrough: From Bench to Key Player

Nick Woltemade had barely finished hearing his coach’s challenge when he walked up to the spot and answered it himself.

On a cool Europa League night in Turin, with Juventus already in control against NEC Nijmegen, Luciano Spalletti had laid out his plan – and his demand. Nick Woltemade, he said, needed minutes, rhythm, and patience. He also needed to prove he could be a genuine option, not just a name on the bench.

“He was not particularly fit when he arrived. He still needs to be built up. We have to let him play. He and Kolo Muani can also play together,” Spalletti said before kick-off, then added the key line: “But during the game I need a real alternative in attack.”

A few hours later, both of his centre-forwards had finally broken their season-long drought.

Juventus crushed Nijmegen 5-0, a statement win in Europe, and in the middle of it came a small, personal turning point. Woltemade, starting for the first time since his summer loan move from Newcastle United, stepped up in the 35th minute and coolly converted a penalty for 3-0. Late on, Randal Kolo Muani came off the bench and made it 5-0, his first strike of the campaign as well.

For Woltemade, the goal carried more than just a number on a scoreboard. It arrived days after the Italian press had gone after him following Juve’s first defeat of the season, a 3-2 loss to US Sassuolo. La Gazzetta dello Sport had summed up the mood bluntly: “He still has a lot to learn and must get used to the level of the Italian league.”

On Thursday night, the narrative shifted.

The penalty itself told a story. Nico Gonzalez, the Argentinian with a past at VfB Stuttgart, picked up the ball and, instead of claiming the kick, deliberately pushed it into Woltemade’s hands. He gave the German’s hair a playful ruffle, a small but pointed show of trust. Spalletti applauded from the touchline. The rest of the team swarmed their tall striker when the ball hit the net.

This was not how Spalletti had sounded after Sassuolo. Back then, the coach had hinted that little would change for the time being regarding Woltemade’s role. The 24-year-old, he insisted, first had to reach the right fitness level. The bench looked like his reality for a while.

Against Nijmegen, that changed. Woltemade stayed on for 83 minutes, a proper workload, and used them to take a clear step towards the form Juventus will need when Atalanta Bergamo arrive in Turin on Sunday.

The timing of his breakthrough is striking for another reason.

On the very day Woltemade scored his first Juventus goal, Jürgen Klopp named his second Germany squad. The striker is in it, called up for the Nations League fixtures against Serbia on 1 October and Greece on 4 October. For a player still fighting for his place at club level, the signal from the national team coach is hard to ignore.

Woltemade is no stranger to the Germany setup. Julian Nagelsmann had already taken him to the World Cup, but his move to Newcastle United – a transfer worth more than 75 million euros – never really took off in terms of playing time. Even the arrival of German coach Matthias Jaissle failed to change his status at the Magpies. At one point he had even opened talks with VfB Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeneß, searching for a way out.

The way out turned out to be Turin.

Now Spalletti suddenly has options. He can act on his own words and start Woltemade alongside Kolo Muani as early as the Atalanta game, leaning into the idea of a twin-striker front line. Or he can wait, let the forward ride the momentum of his first goal and the international call-up, and bring him back after the long Nations League break, when confidence and conditioning might be even stronger.

Either way, the picture around Woltemade has changed. From fitness doubts and harsh headlines to a goal, a starting place, and a Germany nomination – all in the space of a week.

The question now is not whether he belongs in this Juventus squad. It’s how big a role he is about to claim.