Sources: Newcastle’s Nick Woltemade transfer plan revealed, £40m deal could be on
Newcastle United will look to sell Nick Woltemade this summer amid interest from Bayern Munich, sources have told Football Insider.
The German giants have set their sights on the striker, 23, as a player who could come in and improve their attack, but they would only be willing to do a deal at a cut-price fee.
Sources say the Bayern valuation of Woltemade is around £30-40million, which is some way less than the £69m Newcastle paid last summer.
Eddie Howe was reluctant to add any new faces to the Magpies’ attack during the January transfer window, despite their stuttering form of late.
Bayern were heavily linked with Woltemade last summer, but they were ultimately beaten to the deal by Newcastle in what was seen as a coup at the time.
Vincent Kompany’s side may have missed out on the 23-year-old on that occasion, but the transfer could be on the cards for them again this time around.
Nick Woltemade has strugged in the Premier League
Gabby Agbonlahor tore into Woltemade for his performance in Newcastle’s recent Carabao Cup defeat to Manchester City, and criticism has become more common towards the striker in recent weeks.
The former Stuttgart man initially made an electric start to his time on Tyneside, as he scored five goals in his first six games for his new club at the start of the season.
However, that has become a distant memory for the frontman, whose double in the draw with Chelsea on 20 December are his only league goals since November.
Woltemade is now goalless in his last 13 games in all competitions, and many of those appearances have come from the bench, with Yoane Wissa now fit to cause a headache for Howe at the top of the pitch.
Big expectations were placed on Woltemade in the summer after the fee that Newcastle spent to secure his signature, but a premature departure could already be on the cards if the club get their way.
Newcastle’s updated Eddie Howe sack plan
Football Insider revealed on Monday that Newcastle still have no plans to sack Howe at this stage, despite his team now being without a win in their last seven domestic outings.
Supporters are growing increasingly frustrated with the 48-year-old amid the poor recent run, but the indication from the club hierarchy is that he has enough credit in the bank to be backed at the moment.
Howe has led the Magpies into the Champions League twice in recent years, and as a result, the board are keen to ensure that they do not risk making a potentially knee-jerk decision on his future.
Newcastle have had plenty of injuries to contend with of late and have not been able to name a settled team on many occasions, and that works in Howe’s favour in this situation.