Nick Woltemade admits transfer talks with another club before Newcastle United move
Newcastle United outmuscled Bayern Munich in the race for German striker Nick Woltemade.
Nick Woltemade has admitted he held talks with Bayern Munich legend Uli Hoeneß before deciding on Newcastle United.
Few people have shaped the Bundesliga giants like the World Cup winner. Hoeneß won three European Cups for Bayern as a player in the 1970s.
After retirement, he had a 30-year reign as general manager, transforming the club into a global brand fit for the 21st century. The 73-year-old is now Bayern’s honorary president and was drafted in to help sign Woltemade.
Newcastle United win Nick Woltemade race
Stuttgart are understood to have rejected a €60million offer from Bayern for the 23-year-old/ He ultimately joined Newcastle for a club-record £69million - much to the annoyance of German media.
Debate has raged in recent weeks after the Bavarians also missed out on Florian Wirtz to Liverpool. Bayern are used to having their way in German football but the country’s two brightest talents opted for the Premier League.
Speaking to Bild, Toon new boy Woltemade opened up about the efforts Bayern made to clinch the deal. He said: “Uli Hoeneß is a very well-known person. The conversations with him were pleasant, and he gave me a really good feeling. But now I’m happy to be in Newcastle. In the end, everything happened quite quickly.”
Uli Hoeneß fires Newcastle United swipe
Following the window, Hoeneß could not resist firing a cheeky dig at Newcastle. He told German media: “We’re very satisfied at FC Bayern. We are the real winners of the summer transfer window. We have a strong team and didn’t need to strengthen it much. Of course, we would have liked to have Florian Wirtz, but we’d never have bought him for €150million.
“We offered €60million for Nick Woltemade, while Stuttgart wanted €75million. In the end he went to Newcastle for €90million. What Newcastle are doing has nothing to do with football. It’s like Monopoly these days.”
Eddie Howe on Nick Woltemade
Eddie Howe believes Woltemade’s biggest test will be adjusting to the Premier League’s demands. He said last week: “Regarding Nick, I think he’s made a really strong start. I think Nick will improve the fitter he gets.
“Firstly, I think that’s a huge thing. He’s come to us with, obviously, not being used to the demands of Premier League football, and this league is relentless physically. And of course, our schedule is relentless.
“So in terms of us doing physical work with him, that’s very, very difficult. A lot of what we’re going to be doing with him in the short term is to try and keep him fit by not putting him in dangerous positions, in terms of playing 90 minutes, consecutive 90 minutes, too early.
“But fitness will be an issue, because the Premier League is different, as I said, so I think that’s the biggest thing for him. I think once he gets fitter, you’ll see an even better product.”