Current club: Werder BremenCurrent club: Werder Bremen
Current club: Werder Bremen | Getty Images
Liverpool have been linked with a new striker but will Nick Woltemade be the man to replace Darwin Nunez?
It used to be the one position that a title winning team had to have in their line-up and that every successful Liverpool team always had too.
Times change though and even Erling Haaland and his goal a game ratio wasn’t enough to stop Arne Slot’s men from securing Premier League glory.
Striker is clearly a position that needs to be addressed though with the exit-linked Darwin Nunez scoring just seven times in 47 appearances and earning a lot of money to do so. According to reports, Liverpool are considering their options and one of them is Stuttgart’s Nick Woltemade.
Liverpool target Stuttgart target man Nick Woltemade
The 23-year old has a towering presence up front standing at 6ft 5inches tall and scored 17 times in 33 games for the Bundesliga outfit last season after arriving on a free transfer from Werder Bremen. With a reported valuation of £42m, Woltemade could make the other Reds a sizeable profit.
As reported by CaughtOffside: “Initial talks have taken place between the clubs mentioned, who have all been in touch with Stuttgart to gather information on Woltemade’s availability.
“It remains to be seen if Woltemade will end up being a priority for elite sides like Liverpool and Arsenal, who have been more strongly linked with other attacking players.”
It is claimed the interest in in Woltemade is genuine, this is because there are several clubs looking at signing a new striker this summer and with options limited, the Bremen star is seen as a good option.
What has Slot said about the striker he needs to lead the line for Liverpool?
Arne Slot has already addressed the striker problem at Liverpool and suggested in his pre-match press conference for Leicester City in April that Darwin’s time on Anfield might not be for much longer: “You want the difficult answer or the simple answer?” he replied with a smile. “The simple answer is goals, that’s why you play a forward. He needs to produce goals.”
“Apart from that, in modern-day football, a No. 9 needs to work hard and be part of an intense pressing team. If you look at the teams now playing in the semi-final of the Champions League, all 11 players work their ass off.
“So, that is also what I’m expecting from our No. 9, that he’s part of an intense pressing team. But in the end it’s helpful that the No.9 of Liverpool scores goals.”
Not only would he stick out because of his height, he would also stick out because of how he plays.
As the report in CaughtOffside suggests, Woltemade could well be getting considered as a back-up or as a plan B, but Slot will need better if he is to get the goalscoring pressing-machine that he craves.
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