Former Juventus, Inter and Milan striker Aldo Serena has offered a qualified defence of Nick Woltemade, saying the German suits Luciano Spalletti’s style despite his limitations.
With quotes via TuttoMercatoWeb, Serena spoke to Tuttosport after Woltemade scored his first goal for the club in Thursday’s 2-1 Europa League win at Celta Vigo. “Has Woltemade convinced me? Halfway, let me explain,” he said. “He’s not very quick, but he’s a striker who links play well and fits Spalletti’s game.”
Woltemade blazed over from close range in the first half before equalising early in the second, and Randal Kolo Muani then headed a stoppage-time winner.
Serena: ‘Woltemade must learn when to hold the ball up’
“He has good technique and uses it to combine well with his teammates,” Serena explained. “But he needs to understand better when to play the ball first time and when to control it and wait for a midfielder to arrive in support.”
“If you play centre-forward, you have to hold the ball up, protect it and maybe win a few fouls too. I’m still convinced he can play up front.”
Serena also pointed the finger at Teun Koopmeiners, who wasted a good first-half chance when he was slow to control Pierre Kalulu’s cut-back.
“It has to be said that Koopmeiners never made runs to support him, so he didn’t help Woltemade at all,” Serena said.
He believes Nico González, who came off the bench in Vigo and almost scored, could also work well alongside the German.
“That said, I think someone like Nico Gonzalez could do very well with him. Spalletti himself pointed out that he’s the best header of the ball in the squad.”
Tuttosport reports that Spalletti is now considering starting Woltemade and Kolo Muani together, rather than only pairing them from the bench, ahead of Sunday’s game against Lazio in Turin.