Report: Newcastle Reach Agreement for Potential Alexander Isak Replacement

Newcastle United have finally acquired their sought-after new centre forward in the form of Germany international Nick Woltemade.

The Athletic reports an agreement has been reached between Newcastle and VfB Stuttgart that will see Woltemade join the Magpies for an initial fee of £65 million (€75 million, $87.6 million) plus £4.3 million in add-ons.

It’s Newcastle’s club-record transfer, with Woltemade overtaking what the Magpies unloaded to acquire Alexander Isak—the player he might replace—in the summer of 2022.

Stuttgart rejected three separate bids from Bayern Munich for Woltemade earlier in the transfer window, with the club insisting he wasn’t for sale. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Newcastle blew Stuttgart out of the water and the 23-year-old striker is now on his way to Tyneside.

Eddie Howe’s side were desperate to land a new forward since Callum Wilson departed on a free transfer to join West Ham earlier in the month. With Isak trying to force a move to Liverpool, the need for a new attacker only increased.

After unsuccessful attempts to sign forwards such as João Pedro, Liam Delap, Hugo Ekitiké, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Šeško, resulting in having to deploy Anthony Gordon as a makeshift centre forward last time out, landing Woltemade is great news for Newcastle.

Woltemade joined Stuttgart a season ago and scored 18 goals in 38 total appearances for the club. His six goals in the U-21 Euros also saw him win the Golden Boot for the tournament this summer. The striker is a stellar box-presence, but he also has on-the-ball skills rare for a player his size.

The Magpies can rest easy knowing they have secured a potential Isak replacement, though the dream scenario for the Magpies is that the two can play together at least for this season. The club would love to view the German as Wilson’s replacement, not Isak’s.

Woltemade will have his medical on Friday but it might be too optimistic to believe he can feature when Newcastle face Leeds on Saturday night. His debut for the club might have to wait until after the upcoming international break.