Nick Woltemade enjoyed a dream Newcastle United debut as his header guided the Magpies to a 1-0 win over struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers at St James' Park.
Woltemade, who arrived from Bundesliga side Stuttgart in a club-record deal ahead of Alexander Isak's move to Liverpool, nodded Jacob Murphy's cross home just before the half-hour mark.
Murphy had earlier missed a glaring chance to put Newcastle ahead, while Wolves also went close on multiple occasions in the first half, most notably via Rodrigo Gomes immediately after kick-off.
But the visitors never truly threatened an equaliser as Eddie Howe's hosts earned their first win of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign, following two draws and a defeat in August.
While the victory lifts Newcastle to ninth in the early-season standings with five points, Wolves remain bottom, having lost their first four games of a season for the first time.
How the match unfolded
Wolves almost made a flying start with Gomes forcing Nick Pope into a full-stretch save after nine seconds, while the Newcastle goalkeeper also had to repel Hwang Hee-chan's volley from the resulting corner.
Newcastle had a huge chance of their own in the 13th minute, but following Tino Livramento's long throw into the area, Murphy was denied by Sam Johnstone from six yards out.
But Murphy turned provider as Newcastle opened the scoring in the 29th minute, with his inviting cross being nodded home by Woltemade at the far post.
Newcastle could have added a second goal in first-half stoppage time, too, but Sandro Tonali's drive bounced off the base of the post.
After the break, Harvey Barnes went close following a flowing Newcastle move, curling over after some excellent link-up play with Livramento and Bruno Guimaraes.
But Newcastle ultimately did not need a second goal, with Wolves failing to register a shot on target during an uneventful second period.
Newcastle’s Isak replacement hits the ground running
The biggest story of the transfer window, arguably across world football, was the future of Isak.
And with the Sweden striker completing his British-record move to champions Liverpool on deadline day, Newcastle had to replace somebody who registered 29 goal contributions in the Premier League last season.
Newcastle played their first three games of the season with only William Osula as a recognised striker, and their lack of attacking thrust certainly cost them in goalless draws with Aston Villa and Leeds United.
However, in the last 48 hours of the window, Newcastle added Woltemade and Yoane Wissa. Though the latter has already sustained an injury blow, with no timeframe given for his return, Woltemade has hit the ground running.
The towering German showed some excellent touches on Saturday as he constantly involved himself in Newcastle's build-up play. He also put Premier League defenders on notice by ghosting behind Emmanuel Agbadou to score the deciding goal.
Woltemade was only able to get through 65 minutes on his debut before he was replaced by Osula. But Newcastle's supporters have every reason to get excited about their attacking options, having also seen Anthony Elanga come off the bench against Wolves.
With Wissa and the suspended Anthony Gordon still to return, Howe will hope this victory kicks Newcastle's attack into life ahead of a busy period.
They open their UEFA Champions League campaign at home to Barcelona on Thursday, before visiting AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League three days later.
Winless Wolves fail to take their chances
After this defeat, Wolves have started a league campaign with four straight losses for the first time, in their 127th season in the Football League or Premier League.
Vitor Pereira's team have had issues at both ends of the pitch in recent weeks, and on Saturday, they were left to rue a series of missed chances in the first half.
Their direct approach from kick-off led to Gomes and Hwang going close inside the opening minute. Later, with the game still goalless, Fabian Schar made a heroic clearance to deny Tolu Arokodare a debut goal at the back post.
Gomes again went close with a header late in the first half, but Wolves' attacking momentum waned in the second half, as they sorely missed the imposing figure of injured striker Jorgen Strand Larsen.
To give themselves the best chance of winning matches and not dragging themselves into a relegation battle, Wolves must find a way of getting ahead in games. Next up for Pereira's men is a huge clash with Leeds at Molineux next Saturday.
Club reports
Newcastle report | Wolves report
What the managers said
Eddie Howe: "I thought we played pretty well after the first five minutes. The fact we haven't won a game puts more pressure on you in the latter stages.
"The win was all that mattered but we'd love to win in a better style and score more goals. We're defending well as a team."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Newcastle are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League games against Wolves (W6 D2), winning each of the last four in a row.
In what is their 127th season in English league football, Wolves have begun a campaign with four consecutive defeats for the very first time.
Since the start of last season, only Mohamed Salah (19) has more open-play assists in the Premier League than Newcastle’s Jacob Murphy (12).