Woltemade joined Newcastle in the summer in a club record move from Stuttgart
Nick Woltemade of Newcastle United
Nick Woltemade of Newcastle United(Image: 2025 Newcastle United)
View Image
Nick Woltemade 'repeatedly confirmed' he wanted to join Bayern Munich from Stuttgart in the summer.
That is according to Bayern's sporting director Max Eberl, who says a move to the German champions didn't happen because the fee Stuttgart wanted for Woltemade exceeded the cap they were willing to pay for him.
The 23-year-old joined Newcastle in a club record £69million move instead and he has proven to be a revelation at St James' Park so far.
Woltemade has scored five goals for the Magpies already this season and his link up play and close control has been key to the way Eddie Howe's team have played this term.
Content Image
Content Image
The former Werder Bremen youngster is already a hero among Newcastle fans and that has prompted some sour grapes in Munich.
Bayern director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had dubbed Newcastle 'idiots' for paying so much money to sign the Germany international forward, while Uli Hoeness accused Newcastle of playing 'monopoly' in the transfer market.
And now with Eberl's comments, it appears they are looking to cover their tracks when explaining why they didn't ultimately pay the money to sign Woltemade, who has lit up the Premier League so far this season.
"Nick Woltemade repeatedly confirmed to us that he absolutely wanted to join FC Bayern, but VfB Stuttgart was unwilling to accept our offer. Which is the right of any club that has an ongoing contract with a professional," Eberl told 11Freunde.
"Every investment has to pay off in the long term. We had set a cap on the transfer fee for Nick Woltemade and had reached it in our offer to VfB Stuttgart. This is also a common issue in transfers and can be a deal breaker.
"Nick is still a great player and a super guy, but he’s a different type of player than Florian Wirtz. Ultimately, we wanted to stick to our budget strategy."
Here at ChronicleLive, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Newcastle United coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don't miss out on the latest NUFC news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day's biggest stories.
And, finally, if you would rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Everything is Black and White podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.