Verdict on Woltemade as Newcastle loanee makes Juventus debut

Nick Woltemade made his Juventus debut on Sunday, coming off the bench in a 1-1 draw against Milan: here’s what we learned from his first minutes with the Old Lady.

Juventus were desperate to score the equaliser in a big home game against Milan last night when Luciano Spalletti introduced Newcastle loanee Woltemade in the 75th minute. Milan were leading 1-0 thanks to their only shot on target, and Juventus had failed to produce any considerable goal-scoring opportunity after the Rossoneri’s opening goal.

TURIN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 06: Nick Woltemade of Juventus looks on during the Serie A match between Juventus and AC Milan at Allianz Stadium on September 06, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images) The German striker came on to replace Douglas Luiz, while Teun Koopmeiners moved back into central midfield. This adjustment gave Juventus an extremely attacking formation, resembling a 4-2-4 setup, with Woltemade and Randal Kolo Muani positioned as centre-forwards.

Woltemade occasionally dropped deeper to receive the ball and accelerate the buildup play for the Bianconeri, who were running out of time to avoid a defeat that would have been undeserved, as Ruben Amorim also admitted.

TURIN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 06: Federico Gatti of Juventus scores his team’s first goal during the Serie A match between Juventus and AC Milan at Allianz Stadium on September 06, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images) As reported by Sofascore, which rated Woltemade 6.6, the German made eight touches, including one unsuccessful. He was fouled twice and lost possession just as many times.

READ MORE: Football Italia Player Ratings: Juventus 1-1 Milan – Italians in the spotlight Woltemade didn’t touch the ball much, but his introduction in the dying minutes made Juventus slightly more dangerous, allowing the Bianconeri to put more crosses in and fill the box with an extra player, even though the 24-year-old hardly won any aerial duels inside the box. He also had a shot, but it was off target.

FROSINONE, ITALY – AUGUST 23: Luciano Spalletti head coach of FC Juventus gestures during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and AC Monza at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on August 23, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images) As we already examined in one of our  recent YouTube shows , the impression is that Woltemade is a similar type of player to Kolo Muani, which is not necessarily ideal for Spalletti. The Italian tactician will therefore need to work with the German striker and develop him into more of a traditional target man — a classic centre-forward capable not only of scoring goals, but also of occupying opposing defenders, holding up the ball and creating space for his teammates to exploit.

The circumstances surrounding Woltemade’s introduction were particularly dramatic, with Juventus fans growing increasingly impatient and the team’s confidence visibly dropping as the 90th minute approached. Yet, amidst the chaos, Woltemade ultimately played a role in Juventus’ equaliser, albeit indirectly. The feeling, however, is that Spalletti still has plenty of work to do behind the scenes to mould Woltemade into the type of striker he expects him to become.