Newcastle United star Nick Woltemade has revealed how the Germany players reacted to his move and it says an awful lot about the club.
Woltemade has been a major talking point amongst Newcastle United fans, as well as German football as a whole.
After finishing as the top scorer in the U21 European Championships, Bayern Munich wanted to sign Woltemade from Stuttgart.
They missed out, however, and some of their senior figures have since claimed that Newcastle spent too much money to sign Woltemade.
That has felt like sour grapes from the Bavarian giants, particularly because of Woltemade’s fine individual form.
Bayern were angry they couldn’t sign Woltemade and the striker has now revealed how his move to St James’ Park went down amongst his German teammates.
Germany players congratulated Nick Woltemade on joining Newcastle United
Woltemade is playing alongside several Bayern stars at international level.
Still, speaking to BILD, the 23-year-old has revealed that his Germany teammates simply congratulated him on a huge move to Newcastle.
The controversial comments made from the likes of Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeneß do not appear to have made much of an impact behind the scenes.
“A lot was made of my name, Bayern, and transfer fee during the summer; that was the story of the summer,” he said.
“To answer your question: the headlines everywhere said “idiots.” – But I read Mr. Rummenigge’s entire statement – it was certainly somewhat unfortunate, but not quite so dramatic.
“When I arrived at the national team, everyone congratulated me. Bayern players also congratulated me. When they see a player taking a step forward, you get congratulations.
“That was the case for me too.
“There were no negative comments [from Bayern players], especially since my circumstances were special.”
What the reaction of the Germany players says about Newcastle United
It’s pleasing to imagine big names such as the likes of Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry and Leon Goretzka congratulating Woltemade on joining Newcastle.
Indeed, it suggests St James’ is seen as a destination amongst top players. One worthy of celebration among players who are plying their trade for some of the biggest clubs around.
| Player | Goals |
| Nick Woltemade | 6 |
| Hugo Ekitike | 6 |
| Joao Pedro | 4 |
| Benjamin Sesko | 2 |
| Alexander Isak | 1 |
Given that came after a summer in which Newcastle were labelled “Rejection FC” after missing out on so many transfer targets, that’s positive for supporters to hear.
Woltemade’s transfer fee was a huge amount of money and it’s thought that the deal could rise up to an eventual £69million.
The player, however, is doing all he can to repay it.
His first season clearly hasn’t been perfect but six goals in 14 games is a more than decent return.
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