Newcastle United have been linked with a move for Werder Bremen teenager Karim Coulibaly
Werder Bremen's Nick Woltemade mistake is fuelling their desire to get big money for Newcastle target Karim Coulibaly
Werder Bremen's Nick Woltemade mistake is fuelling their desire to get big money for Newcastle target Karim Coulibaly(Image: Getty Images)
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Newcastle United's transfer business could take a whole new direction this summer as sporting director Ross Wilson will drive the pre-season recruitment for the first time since his appointment in October.
Wilson intimated back in December to Chronicle Live that the club's recruitment policy will likely pivot towards players outside of the Premier League sphere given the greater value available to Newcastle in those circles.
Given players with Premier League experience come at a premium, the hope is that United can find players they can develop into Premier League stars without paying over the odds.
Newcastle are likely to target younger players with greater sell-on value and room to develop, too, and that search has led them towards Werder Bremen defender Karim Coulibaly.
The 18-year-old broke into Werder's first team at the start of the season and has 22 appearances under his belt in the Bundesliga this term.
His form, as well as his age profile, has not only seen him capped at under-21 level by Germany but has attracted a whole host of top European clubs.
Newcastle are said to have been joined by the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United, PSG and Napoli in sending scouts to watch him this season and he is fully expected to leave the German side at the end of the season.
With that in mind, Chronicle Live caught up with BILD's Werder Bremen reporter Markus Balczuweit to get the lowdown from the Weserstadion on Coulibaly, how much it will take to prise him away from the club and why they have learned their lessons for missing out on a fortune when Nick Woltemade joined Newcastle for £69million one year after he joined Stuttgart from the club on a free transfer.
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What type of player is Coulibaly? What could Newcastle fans expect?
"He is very, very young. He's just an 18-year-old boy. His parents are from the Ivory Coast and he grew up in quite simple conditions in Hamburg and he played for Hamburger SV.
"It was a big thing for Werder to get him from Hamburg to Werder because they paid a lot for him for a youth player, who was just 16 or 17 years old. Last year he was a member of the cup winners team of Werder from the U19 in Germany.
"He is already a key player. He's a left-footed centre-back who can play football. He tries to open the match, not just tackle and tackle. He tries to play football and is down to earth.
"He's physically quite well-developed. We have some other young professionals here, which are, let's say, more like a schoolboy."
"For Werder, he's now the discovery of the season. No one knew if he would be good enough to compete in the Bundesliga and he is able to compete. He's really able to.
"It is just the start of his career so we're all looking forward to where he's going to go. It's an open secret that he is going to leave the club."
Karim Coulibaly of Werder Bremen
Karim Coulibaly of Werder Bremen(Image: Getty Images)
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How much would it take to prise Coulibaly away from Bremen?
"The club expects around about €40million.
"We talked about Nick Woltemade some time ago about the problem they had because they had to let him go without any transfer fee. The club has a big problem that they haven't made much money out of transfers in the last years.
"So, now he's the one they hope, who gives them big, big money to have more opportunities in summer.
"And they don't want to let him go in August. They want to sell him soon so they can be sure to have money to be active on the transfer market."
Nick Woltemade during his time at Werder Bremen
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How high is Coulibaly's potential?
"He can be, let's say, a really, really good defender with international class. I don't want to speak about world class because he is so young.
"Although he's just so young, he's not scared. In his first match in Bundesliga, in the starting eleven, he made a really, really big mistake. He gave the ball to the opponent and they scored, which was really a big thing.
"But the coach at that time said: 'OK, I don't want to pull him out of the team at half-time. He will stay on the pitch and he has to learn.'
"It belongs to the start of a career to make mistakes. He stayed on the pitch and during extra time, he was the one who scored to make it 3-3 for Werder against Leverkusen.
"What I want to say is he's, let's say, mentally quite stable."
Karim Coulibaly of Werder Bremen
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Does Coulibaly have the quality to succeed in the Premier League?
"I would say yes, because right now, although he's just 18, he's quite physically strong.
"Of course, let's take one year more or two years more and he will become even more physical which helps him more to adapt to the Premier League.
"I would say he has the base. The base is there to be physical enough to compete there and to succeed there."