Nick Woltemade revealed how Eddie Howe played an instrumental role in convincing him to sign for Newcastle United late in the summer window.
The big story of the summer window has been Newcastle United and the saga involving former striker Alexander Isak. While they were battling all odds to keep hold of the Swede amid Liverpool’s interest and the player’s desire to exit, the Magpies also faced multiple rejections from some of their top targets across different positions.
More importantly, the Magpies tried to sign many strikers, including Benjamin Sesko, Joao Pedro, Liam Delap and Hugo Ekitike. All those names chose different options, which caused a stir, as many were confident that if they had joined Newcastle United, they could have resolved the Isak situation quite earlier.
As it happened, Isak joined Liverpool on deadline day, and that only happened because the Magpies had secured a suitable replacement a few days prior. Nick Woltemade joined Newcastle United from VFB Stuttgart, and it was a surprise move considering the towering striker was of interest to Bayern Munich for the duration of the summer window.
Bayern Munich reportedly only offered €55 million plus another €5 million in add-ons, while Newcastle United paid considerably more to the tune of €85 million plus €5 million in add-ons for Woltemade. The towering striker reportedly had a ‘fervent desire’ to join the Bavarians, but he has now revealed that Eddie Howe played a crucial role in convincing him to join Newcastle United instead.
Woltemade’s comments on Bild via Sport Witness revealed how talks with Howe panned out, which eventually convinced the striker to make the move to Tyneside rather than Bayern Munich.
Woltemade said, “The discussions with the coach were good from the start.”
“I was immediately shown a clear plan and a path forward. The people are keen to work with me here. I’m very pleased about that.”
Woltemade went to expand on the discussions, revealing that Howe offered further assurances of his role at Newcastle United.
Woltemade continued, “It all happened quite quickly in the end,” he said.
“Basically, he always told me: ‘If anything happens, you can call me anytime.’ We’ve talked about it now. It’s important to him that I play. As long as that’s the case, everything’s fine. I think he’s happy that I scored a goal today. In that respect, I’m very happy.”
Woltemade has made a stellar start to life at Tyneside, scoring on his debut in the Premier League clash against Wolves. The goal proved to be the match-winner in the end, as he made a big impression on the watching home crowd.
As for Newcastle United, despite the many rejections they faced from top targets, they did do well to end their window with new signings. Yoane Wissa arrived from Brentford, ending another saga in the background, as despite Isak’s departure, the DR Congo international and Woltemade do improve their frontline.