Nick Woltemade has given his first extended interview since joining Juventus — speaking to DAZN for a special feature entitled “Woltemade, una scelta di classe” — and the result is the most complete and revealing portrait yet of a player who arrived at the Continassa in the window’s final hours and has already begun to make a meaningful impression.
“Tonali Said ‘Classy Choice’ — He and Thiaw Always Spoke Well of Italian Football”
The inside story of how Juventus received one unexpected endorsement from within the Newcastle United dressing room is one of the interview’s most charming passages. “With Tonali I have a beautiful relationship. I spoke with him a few days before the start of the season about my possible transfer to Juventus — and he said to me: ‘Ah, classy choice.’ I had many lunches with him and Thiaw — who played for Milan — and they always spoke well of Italian football to me. Now finally I will be able to speak of it myself.” On the message that followed: “Tonali wrote to congratulate me on signing for Juventus — but I haven’t yet had the chance to speak with him this week.”
It is the kind of personal detail that places Woltemade immediately within a network of relationships and positive associations that a player arriving in a foreign country and a foreign football culture needs.
“Being in the Same Sentence as Ibrahimović, Said by Buffon, Is Incredible”
On Gianluigi Buffon’s comparison of his physical presence and aerial quality to Zlatan Ibrahimović — delivered on the morning of the Milan match — Woltemade was moved and entirely honest about its significance. “Being in the same sentence as Ibrahimović — especially when that sentence is pronounced by Buffon — is incredible. When you hear players of that level speak about you it is a very beautiful sensation, so I really appreciated what he said. I hope that one day I can say I managed to replicate what Ibrahimović did and put a tick on that objective. Buffon is a legend — just the fact that he pronounces my name makes me proud.”
On Ibra himself as a lifelong reference point: “Ibrahimović has always been a reference point for me. He was a player I loved watching — for his technique, for his ability and agility. I learned a great deal watching him. He is an idol for me — has been from the very beginning.”
“Spalletti Has an Enormous Aura — When I Met Him With My Family, We All Thought the Same Thing”
On his first encounter with Luciano Spalletti — an occasion that included his family, and that appears to have produced an immediate and lasting impression: “When I met Spalletti for the first time with my family, we all thought one single thing: aura. He has an enormous aura. He seems calm, but he is very clear in what he wants — both on the pitch and off it. He has been helping me enormously and immediately began working very hard with me to help me improve. I am certain I will become a better player with him.”
“The Friesian Horse? I Know About It — I Hope to See One in the Flesh One Day”
On Spalletti’s celebrated description of him as a “cavallo frisone” — a Friesian horse — Woltemade was entirely good-humoured. “The comparison with the Friesian horse? I am aware of it. I have never seen that breed of horse in Germany — but I know the intention was to describe me as a tall player who is good with the ball, a good lad who gets on well with everyone. I hope one day to see one of these horses in the flesh — for now I can trust him and take his word for it.”
“I Can Play as a Number Ten Behind the Striker — We Are Interchangeable with Kolo Muani”
The tactical confirmation that Spalletti has been building towards — a Woltemade-Kolo Muani partnership with the German operating in the number ten role — received its most explicit endorsement yet from the player himself. “I can certainly play as a number ten behind the striker — moving around him as I did at Stuttgart and as I already did against Milan with Kolo Muani. But we are interchangeable.” The goal he is working towards: “I hope to replicate the Stuttgart season in which I scored 17 goals and won the German cup. I would love to do it here too.”
“This Is the Best Club in Italy — and the Lifestyle Here Is Fantastic”
The closing statement was delivered with the unguarded enthusiasm of a player who means every word. “I have many things to learn here — many things to understand, starting with the language. But I cannot wait, and I am very happy to be here. This is the best club in Italy, and the lifestyle in this country appeals to me enormously.” The summer that nobody saw coming has given Juventus a striker who arrived last. He may yet be among the season’s most important additions.
