Shay Given reckons ‘brilliant’ Newcastle star will be worth every single penny

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Shay Given has claimed that a Newcastle United star is worth his weight in gold after his Champions League performance against Union St. Gilloise.

Newcastle got a win in the Champions League, with a very convincing performance against Belgian opposition. Goals were shared between Nick Woltemade, Harvey Barnes and Anthony Gordon, who got a double.

The Magpies were excellent in both attack and defence. Anthony Elanga was a menace throughout, arguably having his best game in a Newcastle jersey, while summer signing Malick Thiaw was sensational.

Woltemade, another Eddie Howe acquisition, also put in another fine performance for his new side, which earned praise from pundits.

Shay Given on Nick Woltemade in the Champions League

Former Magpies shot stopper Shay Given gave high praise to Woltemade for his first-ever goal for Newcastle in the Champions League.

Given told TNT Sports at half-time: “There’s a brilliant flick from Nick Woltemade in the box. You can see the build-up here [Anthony] Elanga has been a real bright spark down the right-hand side in the first half, and now he’s supporting the play.

“On the edge of the box, he gets into position, and there’s a clear touch from Woltemade. From the angle, it’s a quality strike from [Sandro] Tonali, and then Big Nick delivers a precise finish from close range.

“For a man of six foot six, Woltemade’s technical ability is impressive. He’d already scored twice with his head this season, and now he’s showing he’s comfortable with his feet as well.”

Given then went on to suggest that amid recent comments from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich’s chief, Woltemade could actually be worth every penny.

“And we spoke before about Bayern Munich, saying he’s a lot of money, but maybe it’s actually going to be a cheap 65 million deal,” he concluded.

What did Bayern Munich’s chief say about Nick Woltemade?

Bayern chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge branded Newcastle as ‘idiots’ for paying such a large amount for the German.

“I’ll be honest: When this story with Woltemade and then the demand from Stuttgart came up, I, as well as Uli Hoeneß, Herbert Hainer, Jan Dreesen, and Max Eberl (Bayern board members), said – folks, we’re slowly getting to a level that I simply don’t find acceptable anymore,” he told BR Sport.

“We shouldn’t fulfil every demand to make someone happy, especially the financiers at VfB Stuttgart.

“I can only congratulate those in Stuttgart for finding – I’ll use quotation marks here – an idiot who paid that much money. Because we certainly wouldn’t have done that in Munich.”

Woltemade has made a great start to his Newcastle career, so the comments were surprising. For the Magpies’ sake, let’s hope that ‘Big Nick’ can keep proving them wrong.