The Bild newspaper had reported that, should Guirassy leave, Dortmund would be considering bringing Woltemade back to the Bundesliga. This was triggered by a rumour, also first reported by Bild, that Guirassy wanted to leave the Black and Yellows next summer despite having a contract running until 2028.
Woltemade moved from VfB Stuttgart to Newcastle United last summer for €95 million, but is currently experiencing a serious crisis there – at least in terms of goal-scoring – following a strong start, as manager Eddie Howe has simply stopped playing him in his preferred position.
“I know I’m associated with goals, but you can’t compare a striker’s goal-scoring rate with that of a midfielder who plays 50, 60, 70 metres away from the opposition’s goal,” Woltemade recently told the Süddeutsche Zeitung, adding: “I’m a completely different Nick Woltemade right now than I was at the start of the season!”
According to Bild, Woltemade does not want to leave the Magpies after just one year. And according to Ricken, there is no interest either, because in the BVB boss’s opinion there is no need for action – this also applies to the bubbling rumour mill surrounding Fisnik Asllani, who has been linked with a move to BVB since at least the arrival of Ole Book as the new sporting director in Dortmund.
Book had once brought Asllani to SV Elversberg on loan, thereby paving the way for the Kosovan international’s definitive breakthrough in German professional football. But as far as an Asllani move is concerned, Ricken says: “We’ve got two players with that profile already!”