“Nothing came together”: Newcastle fans are already calling for Nick Woltemade to be sold
After a weak performance for Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup, the calls for the sale of Nick Woltemade are growing louder.
The Germany centre-forward played the full 90 minutes in Wednesday's 3-2 win, but failed to leave a lasting impression. In the 2-2 league opener against Liverpool, new Magpies head coach Matthias Jaissle had still left the striker on the bench.
Following a bright start last season after his €70 million move from VfB Stuttgart, Woltemade then endured a difficult campaign under coach Eddie Howe, who even used him in midfield at times. By the end of the season, speculation had already emerged that the Magpies wanted to move on their expensive new signing. So far, though, Woltemade has stayed and has now done little to strengthen his case.
"While others were getting good service, nothing came together for the Germany international," concluded the Chronicle, the newspaper from Newcastle. "The lack of willingness to go where it hurts is a cause for concern," the paper added. Jaissle's style of play relies heavily on running and pressing, and that does not appear to suit Woltemade particularly well, as the German is an attacking player who wants to be involved in combinations.
"I don't like saying this, but Nick Woltemade is not made for English football," a Newcastle fan posted, according to Sport Bible. "The time has come to sell him," he added, "you can just see that things are not working for him." Another Magpies supporter added: "Sorry, but we have to sell Woltemade."
That hefty fee their club paid a year ago only makes things harder for Newcastle: "I would take the loss and sell Woltemade for any fee, swap him or loan him out," another fan had seen enough of the German.
Jaissle are backing Woltemade at Newcastle - and even called Hoeneß
The 24-year-old has been loosely linked in recent weeks with Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig, but there have apparently been no concrete talks over a move so far. Last season, he recorded 11 goals and five assists in 51 competitive appearances for Newcastle.
Despite the frustration among supporters, Sport Bild recently reported that head coach Jaissle still sees the Germany international as an important building block. According to the report, Jaissle assured Woltemade that, unlike his predecessor Eddie Howe, he clearly sees him in his preferred positions through the centre or as a second striker. Internally, he is backing his German compatriot and giving him a clear direction to quickly put his rather disappointing debut season in Newcastle behind him and look ahead.
In a bid to get Woltemade back on track, Jaissle is even said to have picked up the phone to Sebastian Hoeneß in Stuttgart, with whom the striker had worked extremely successfully at VfB. In the conversation, Jaissle gathered all the important information about his new player and, according to Sport Bild, asked Hoeneß about the best position for the former Stuttgart man and also wanted to know what matters to Woltemade off the pitch.
