Woltemade reflects on failed Bayern transfer and move to Newcastle

Over the summer, Nick Woltemade agreed personal terms with Bayern Munich, but the move didn’t materialise after the German champions failed to agree a transfer fee with VfB Stuttgart.

Instead, the German international ended up joining Newcastle United – and he couldn’t be happier today.

“When I realised that the move to Bayern probably wasn’t going to work out, I told myself: okay, then it’s meant to be. Everything in life happens for a reason. The perfect example is the failed Bayern transfer: I’m now super happy to be at Newcastle. Otherwise, that wouldn’t have happened. In hindsight, I’m glad it turned out this way. I believe everything happens for a reason,” Woltemade told Sport Bild.

“When my agent informed me about Newcastle’s interest, I was at home in my apartment in Stuttgart. I was immediately excited and wanted to hear more. Then I had very good conversations with [Newcastle manager] Eddie Howe, who is just a great person, and afterwards I got the feeling right away: do it! In the end, everything happened quite quickly.

“I’m super happy. Newcastle so far is a 10 out of 10. I’ve joined a club that really suits me. I feel comfortable on and off the pitch. That’s the most important thing in my job,” he added.

Reports from Germany suggested that Newcastle paid as much as €90 million to bring Woltemade to England, but the striker insists the fee was lower.

“I can imagine where that came from,” he said with a laugh. 

“That’s definitely too much. The fee was €75 million. Regardless of the sum, I’m very happy to be here now.”