While Woltemade has found himself on the bench in recent games, fellow German says the summer signing from VfB Stuttgart has exceeded expectations.
He told talkSPORT: “He over-exceeded my actual expectations at the beginning of the season.
“Because normally when you come to the Premier League from a league where the football is a little bit slower, then you need to take time to adjust.
"It normally takes three, four or five months. So he did really well at the beginning.
“He probably has to recover from that a little bit because he's still a young guy. And we don't know his physical details. So it may come down to that.
“In terms of Germany, I hope that he's getting better, obviously (ahead of the World Cup).
“But for a young player, I think it's quite normal that you cannot have this level of presence and good performances throughout your first Premier League season.”