Newcastle United are finally signing a striker from the Bundesliga, as Nick Woltemade prepares to join.
It is third time lucky for Newcastle United, having failed with bids for Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko. They joined Liverpool and Manchester United respectively, causing huge problems for the Magpies’ striker search.
But Woltemade is joining Newcastle for a club-record fee of £69million, having flown in from Stuttgart on Thursday night. He will become Newcastle’s most expensive signing ever, which is an honour they tried to bestow upon Ekitike and then Sesko.
They chose to go elsewhere, but Newcastle United will hope they have the last laugh by landing Woltemade.
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Nick Woltemade ranked above Benjamin Sesko by Bundesliga expert
But who is the better striker out of Woltemade, Ekitike and Sesko? They have all left the Bundesliga to move to the Premier League this summer, with varying degrees of pressure on their shoulders.
Bundesliga expert and journalist Archie Rhind-Tutt has given his verdict, admitting that he would rank Woltemade ahead of Manchester United’s most recent signing.
“They’ve all got potential to be excellent strikers,” he told the ESPN FC YouTube channel.
“I would go Ekitike at the top, then I would go Woltemade and then Sesko.
“Sesko has the wow factor in him. The problem is he will do things that make you go ‘oh my god how did he manage to do that’. Equally, he will make you say the same words when he is front of goal and he misses a sitter.”
What Newcastle United can expect from Nick Woltemade
Newcastle United are taking a slight risk in buying Woltemade from Stuttgart.
That is the view of Rhind-Tutt, who has explained what kind of player the 23-year-old is and why there should be a lot of excitement surrounding his arrival.
“He’s so good that his nickname amongst the Stuttgart fans last season was ‘Woltemessi’,” he said.
“He is an incredible dribbler, and yet he is close to being two metres tall, which are very unique traits.
“That is the gamble that Newcastle are taking here. Are we going to be able to do similar things with Nick Woltemade as we were able to do with Alexander Isak in terms of polishing up his game?
“But there is still a risk, because Woltemade arrived at Stuttgart at the start of last season on a free from Werder Bremen, having never really proven himself. He wasn’t even picked and registered as part of Stuttgart’s Champions League squad. He bloomed mainly in the second part of the season.
“The faith that they are going to have to show is there will be some rough games that Nick Woltemade will have, but he’ll keep you coming back for more, such will be the quality that he shows in his very good games.”
Every signing is a risk. It is even more of a risk when they are costing more than £60million and are likely going to replace one of the best strikers in the world.
But it is easy to forget that Alexander Isak was not the player he is today when he arrived at St James’ Park. Eddie Howe and the Newcastle United coaching team have enhanced his game massively, to the point he could now break the British transfer record.
The Magpies will hope to improve Woltemade in the same way, as he gets set to become a member of the Newcastle United squad. Howe is excited to work with Woltemade, with the Toon boss well placed to turn him into a superstar.
Newcastle are beating Bayern Munich to Woltemade’s signature, which should give Toon fans confidence too. After all, he would likely have arrived there as a long-term replacement for Harry Kane.
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