Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has leapt to Nick Woltemade’s defence after Bayern Munich executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge claimed Stuttgart had found “an idiot” to pay £69million for him.
The 23-year-old Germany international arrived at St James’ Park for a club record fee on deadline day as the Magpies reinvested some of the £130m they had raked in for Alexander Isak.
Bayern were also engaged in the race to sign Woltemade, but ultimately had to admit defeat, prompting Rummenigge to tell Blickpunkt Sport: “I congratulate Stuttgart, because they found an idiot who paid the money we didn’t want to pay in Munich.”
Asked about the former Germany frontman’s comments as he conducted his pre-match press conference in Brussels ahead of Wednesday night’s Champions League clash with Union Saint-Gilloise, head coach Howe said: “The market forces dictate transfer fees, not necessarily any one club. We’re very pleased to have Nick with us.
“I think he’s started very strongly in what’s been a difficult period for him because he’s thrust straight into action, no training time with us, really, of any note and I think he’s done really, really well, so we’re really pleased to have him with us and the transfer fee, for me, is absolutely irrelevant.”
Woltemade has scored two goals in his three Premier League appearances to date as he gets to grip with life in England’s top tier and will hope for a first Champions League start against the Belgian champions.
He could be forgiven for feeling the weight of his hefty price tag, but Howe is confident that will not be an issue.
He said: “I don’t think he’s that kind of character. I don’t think he necessarily over-thinks things too much, which is a really big strength.
“What he’s going to be judged on is how he performs in the team and what he gives to the club going forward.”
Brazil international Joelinton knows all about the burden of leading the attack at Newcastle having been signed as a £40million centre-forward from Hoffenheim during the summer of 2019.
His struggles in that role are well documented, but his reinvention as a midfielder under Howe has turned him into a cult hero on Tyneside.
Asked if he had shared his experience with Woltemade, he said: “No, I didn’t talk about it. He knows the expectation, but he has his own expectations.
“He’s a German player, a young player but with a lot of experience already. He’s played for a for a big country and he’s a good player.
“The fee is not us, it’s the team. We can do nothing about it, but I know he is fine.”
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Newcastle returned to European action with a hard-fought 2-1 home defeat by Barcelona, but now face the Belgian champions desperate for a an away win, something they did not manage in their last campaign two seasons ago.
Howe said: “For any team to be at this level and to be top of the league and playing in the way that they are, they demand respect.
“It’s not been just one season. They were knocking on the door to win the league, then they’ve won the league and now they’re deservedly in the Champions League, so we’ll be fully focused and fully ready.”
