Newcastle United splashed the cash on Nick Woltemade in August, sparking a major debate over his true value.
Alexander Isak left Newcastle United for Liverpool on deadline day, but only after Nick Woltemade had already joined the Magpies.
Newcastle agreed to pay up to £69million for Woltemade, who had effectively enjoyed just one great season in the Bundesliga.
Woltemade impressed for Stuttgart last season and has already made a major impact at Newcastle.
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German legend on Nick Woltemade’s Newcastle United transfer
Uli Hoeness believes Newcastle overpaid for Woltemade, but Newcastle fans would almost certainly disagree right now.
Woltemade has scored in his first three home games for Newcastle and is showing no sign of slowing down.
Woltemade’s rise to prominence has been rapid, given that he struggled for goals with Werder Bremen in the 2023-24 Bundesliga season.
Joining Stuttgart set Woltemade on a path to stardom, and the striker has left Werder legend Thomas Schaaf stunned.
Schaaf has told Bild that he thinks Woltemade’s move to Newcastle is ‘completely surreal’ and a sign of the ‘insane’ money being spent on players.
Schaaf added praise for the ‘bright’ Woltemade, but feels that such a huge transfer was ‘unforeseeable’.
Woltemade’s move has clearly stunned Schaaf, who added that anybody predicting such a deal ‘needs to be put in a straitjacket’.
“The sums that are generally paid today – that is insane,” said Schaaf.
“This is completely surreal. Nick can’t be blamed for the fact that this transfer has caused such a stir. He’s a good boy with a bright mind. The speed with which the transfer has now taken place was unforeseeable. Not in Stuttgart and not at Werder.
“It was clear early on that he had what it takes to play in the Bundesliga. But anyone who thought he would move for so much money now needs to be put in a straitjacket,” he added.
The timeline of Nick Woltemade’s rise
2010: Woltemade joins hometown club Werder Bremen at the age of eight.
2020: Werder handed Woltemade his first-team debut in a February clash with Augsburg. This made Woltemade the youngest player in Werder history at 17 years, 11 months and 16 days.
2022: First-team football was hard to come by, so Woltemade headed out on loan to third-tier German side SV Elversberg. Woltemade scored 10 times in 31 games, helping seal promotion to 2. Bundesliga.
2023: Woltemade returned to Bremen but struggled to make an impact for Werder, scoring just twice in 30 Bundesliga games. Only 12 of those appearances came as a starter, but he couldn’t quite bring his Elversberg form back to Werder.
2024: Woltemade decided to leave his hometown club and join Bundesliga rivals Stuttgart on a free transfer. Everything clicked into place for the striker, as he scored 17 times in all competitions during the 2024-25 season.
2025: Newcastle snapped up Woltemade in a club-record deal, but only after the striker dazzled at the European Under-21 Championship. Woltemade racked up six goals and finished as the top scorer in the competition.
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