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Newcastle United sold Alexander Isak to Liverpool and replaced him with Nick Woltemade.
Isak went on strike at Newcastle in the summer as he successfully forced through his £130million British record transfer to Liverpool.
The Swede scored 62 goals in 109 appearances for the Magpies but has hardly been missed with £69m club-record signing Woltemade immediately hitting the ground running.
While Newcastle as a team are struggling to score goals, Woltemade has had no such problem with five goals in his opening six starts.
Jose Mourinho impressed with NUFC record signing Nick Woltemade
The 6ft 6in German international will look to continue his goalscoring form against Mourinho’s Benfica, who are the visitors to St James’ Park in the Champions League tonight.
Asked about Newcastle’s transition from Isak to Woltemade, Mourinho has clearly been impressed with how quickly the latter has settled on Tyneside.
“What happened with Isak in the summer, it's very difficult for a club, very difficult for a coach, and very difficult even for the fellow players,” the Portuguese manager said.
“I think in the end everybody knows that he's going to leave for Liverpool, but one thing is everybody knows he's going to leave, and another thing is done. When it's done, you move on. When it's done, you have a new player.
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“When you have a new player, you train and you adapt to play with a new player, because, of course, Isak and Woltemade, they are different players. But again, that's what I was saying, there is always a period of transition for new players.
“It looks like this boy is here all his life, because he's performing, he's adapted, he's loved by the fans. Newcastle is doing things right. He's doing things right.”
Jose Mourinho praises Newcastle United’s recruitment strategy
Mourinho last managed in the Premier League in 2021 and since then, Newcastle have enjoyed a rapid rise under their Saudi Arabian owners having qualified for the Champions League twice in three seasons, as well as ending their 70-year domestic trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup in March.
And Mourinho believes that is down to the Magpies’ success in the transfer market.
The three-time Premier League winner added: “Many clubs with new owners, with fresh money, lots of wrong decisions, lots of ups and downs. Newcastle, since the moment they have the new ownership, adding stability, they changed sporting directors for obvious reasons. The new football is like that.
“Lots of stability. The profile of the players, I never see a player that Newcastle get that doesn't fit the model, doesn't fit the profile, they do things really, really well. That's why they are where they are.”
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