Nick Woltemade was a risky signing but is already central to new-look Newcastle

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When Alexander Isak sealed his £125m British record transfer to Liverpool, Newcastle fans braced themselves for a period of turbulence. Losing their talismanic striker, who scored 54 goals in 86 Premier League appearances, felt like a decisive blow – until a 6ft6in German forward began to quietly win them over.

Replacing a centre-forward is not as simple as matching goals with goals. Newcastle’s task was to replace a player around whom the team’s attacking identity had been built? The answer was 23-year-old Nick Woltemade, a young, promising forward from VFB Stuttgart but untested at the very top level.

Newcastle were linked with a series of strikers in the summer. Benjamin Sesko’s explosive speed and ability to exploit high defensive lines seemed like a natural replacement for Isak, but he had his heart set on Manchester United. Hugo Ekitike offered silky dribbling and flair akin to Isak’s technical ability, but he chose league champions Liverpool. Viktor Gyökeres could not stop scoring for Sporting but he ended up at Arsenal.

Woltemade looked like a compromise, a punt on potential rather than a direct heir to Isak. The club record £69m price tag looked hefty, particularly for a player who had been playing for SV Elversberg in Germany’s third tier two years earlier. Even Newcastle legend Alan Shearer was unsure, warning in early September: “He’s probably had maybe seven or eight months of good football … it’s a big, big ask for him to go in and lead the line as Newcastle’s No 9.”

His goal-per-game rate – 0.2 in the Bundesliga – hardly compared to Isak’s rate of 0.63 per game in the Premier League and Woltemade’s style made him a curious choice. Whereas Isak thrives as a technical, poaching No 9, Woltemade’s game revolves around link-up play, dropping deep and facilitating others. For a club that had spent the last three seasons building its shape around a different style of attacker, this was a tactical gamble as much as a financial one.

But what looked like a compromise is showing early signs of being the right solution Newcastle. It took the towering forward just 29 minutes to win over the sceptical fans at St James’ Park on debut, rising above Emmanuel Agbadou after some smart movement to head home the winner against Wolves. He backed up that effort with three more goals, taking his tally to four in six Premier League and Champions League appearances. Just like that, the Isak hangover was gone, the noise of a summer of turmoil was drowned out by the chants from the Toon Army.

Woltemade scored his first goal for Germany this week in a 1-0 win against Northern Ireland

Though his goals have been a welcome addition to a side that has started the season with the fifth fewest goals in the Premier League (six), Woltemade’s real impact lies in how he is transforming Newcastle’s attacking approach. He offers the team a new dimension to their traditionally direct style of attacking. The German blends the physical presence of the traditional No 9 with the technical qualities of a deep-lying playmaker.

Unlike Isak, who thrived on stretching defences and getting in behind the last line of defence, Woltemade prefers to play between the lines, dropping into midfield zones to link play and help his team progress play. He gives his side another route out of a high press rather than a long ball and drags defenders out of position in tight areas, which in turn gives Newcastle greater positional fluidity as as Anthony Gordon, Anthony Elanga and Jacob Murphy now push higher and narrower from the wing, using Woltemade’s movement to find gaps behind defenders.

Newcastle still transition quickly - they have taken the third fewest touches in their own penalty area and the least touches in their own defensive third, while advancing the ball toward the opponent’s goal during a sequence of play at the third fastest rate in the league. But, where there was once an emphasis on pace and movement in behind the last line of defence to exploit Isak’s finishing ability, there is now more controlled possession, using Woltemade’s link-up play to build attacks rather than relying solely on transitions.

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Despite the promise Woltemade brings, there are some teething problems to overcome. The team’s underlying data suggests growing pains of integrating their new focal point of attack; Newcastle currently sits third from bottom in the Premier League for xG difference at -3.27, they have taken the ninth fewest shots, and are averaging just 0.86 goals per game.

The front line is still finding its rhythm. His movement patterns are not yet fully understood by his teammates and the fluid attacking triangles that once thrived between Lewis Hall, Joelinton and Gordon have been disrupted as roles have shifted. The team is still learning how to make the most of his hold-up play and his ability to link midfield to attack, with a tendency to be overly direct at times.

Replacing Isak was never going to be simple, and Eddie Howe is still ironing out some kinks, but Woltemade’s influence on Newcastle’s attack is already clear. He has big boots to fill but he is proving that the club’s future doesn’t just lie in just replacing Isak – it lies in evolving into a team capable of surprising opponents in entirely new ways, and Woltemade is more than capable of that.