Nick Woltemade is not just your average footballer who's known for being a tall striker at a height of 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in), but he's developing himself into a world-class striker as well. He recently scored a brace against Chelsea in what was a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park, thus taking his Premier League status for the season to 7 goals in 14 Premier League games. Thus, the German striker is now averaging a goal every 2 games in his debut Premier League campaign. We will now be looking at how Woltemade began his career and how he has now become a fan favourite at Newcastle after replacing Alexander Isak, who ended up joining Arne Slot's Liverpool.
Rising through the ranks in Germany
It was in 2010 that Woltemade joined German club Werder Bremen from TS Woltmershausen. He went on to spend the next decade in their youth academy. One of his highlight seasons at Werder Bremen was the 2018–19 campaign, which ended with an astonishing record of 18 goals and 8 assists in just 24 matches for Werder Bremen's U17 team in the U17 Bundesliga.
This was followed by Woltemade scoring 7 in 8 games for the U19 team, which eventually led to him being called to the first team for a Bundesliga match against Bayer Leverkusen on 11th January 2020. Woltemade later made his professional debut in a 2–1 league defeat away to FC Augsburg. Despite the loss, he still made history that day, as the German striker became the youngest Bundesliga player in Werder Bremen's history at 17 years, 11 months, and 16 days.
2 years later, Woltemade joined newly-promoted 3. Liga club SV Elversberg on a one-year loan. He soon became an integral part of the club, scoring ten goals in the league and thus helping his club achieve back-to-back promotions to the 2. Bundesliga. Woltemade was even awarded the 3. Liga Player of the Season prize for his outstanding performances.
Ahead of the 2024-25 Bundesliga season, VfB Stuttgart decided to sign Woltemade on a 4-year contract. His first and only season with the club was nothing less than a historical one. Woltemade scored a total of 17 goals in all competitions that season, including a goal in the DFB-Pokal final that helped his side win 2-4 over Arminia Bielefeld.
Newcastle's current fan favourite
Bayern Munich were highly interested in signing Woltemade from Stuttgart, but were unwilling to accept the demands of his club. Newcastle, on the other hand, were desperately looking for a top-class replacement to Alexander Isak, who was on a strike at the time to force a move to Premier League Champions Liverpool. In the end, Isak got his move to Liverpool, while Newcastle agreed to Stuttgart's demands by paying a whooping £65 million fee for him.
Fast forward to the present, Nick Woltemade has easily adapted to the Premier and already established himself as one of the best strikers in the league. He's also made the Newcastle fans completely forget about Isak, and the German looks set to create history with the Magpies. Ironically, Isak's move to Liverpool has been a nightmare so far, and he has yet again suffered an Injury against Spurs that looks quite serious.
It's still too early to give a final opinion on the matter, but it does look like Newcastle have ended up being the unlikely winners of the Alexander Isak transfer saga, and Woltemade looks poised to help them win major titles.
Also Read |
