Newcastle closes in on Woltemade signing to boost chances of Isak joining Liverpool

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said attempts to sign Germany striker Nick Woltemade were “developing in a good way,” with the proposed deal increasing the possibility of Alexander Isak finally getting his wish to leave for Liverpool.

Isak has been at the center of this summer’s big transfer saga, with Liverpool having an initial bid for the Sweden international rejected and then Isak refusing to play for Newcastle in an effort to secure a switch to the Premier League champions.

With Isak seemingly intent on forcing a move, the pressure has grown on Newcastle to find a replacement and the Saudi-controlled team appears to have found one in Woltemade, who scored 17 goals in 33 games for Stuttgart last season and made his national-team debut for Germany in June.

Stuttgart said Thursday the 23-year-old Woltemade has been released from training and game duties to hold talks with “a European club,” widely reported to be Newcastle.

Howe confirmed as much Friday, when directly addressing a question about what he could say about the signing of Woltemade.

“Not much, but positive signs,” Howe said. “Things are moving and developing in a good way at the moment. Until things are done, can’t confirm anything. But yes, fingers crossed.”

Asked if Woltemade could be signed in time to make his debut against Leeds on Saturday, Howe said: “I don’t think that’s going to be possible. The most important thing is we bring a center forward in. That’s what we’ve been working on all summer.”

Also speaking at a news conference on Friday morning, Liverpool manager Arne Slot said his club was still open to the idea of recruiting “the right player” for the right money — without referencing Isak — ahead of the transfer window closing on Monday.

“Let’s see if we do something, and if we do something, what we can do,” Slot said.

Slot added: “Newcastle signed, if it’s true and I have no reason not to believe what you are saying, a new No. 9. So that’s very nice for Eddie, because Anthony Gordon is suspended and Isak has not been training with the team a lot, so it’s nice for him to have another No. 9.”

Who is Nick Woltemade?

He stands out immediately on any field, with his height — 6 foot, 6 inches (1.98 meters) — creativity and slick technique making for a rare combination.

A “2-meter Messi-Musiala” was the memorable verdict of Woltemade’s Stuttgart teammate, Atakan Karazor, comparing him to Argentina great Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich rising star Jamal Musiala.

Woltemade could have been Musiala’s teammate at Bayern, but the German champions balked at Stuttgart’s price tag after pursuing him for much of the offseason.

It seems that even Bayern cannot compete with the financial power of England’s top teams.

“It’s always down to the player where he goes,” Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund said Friday. “The Premier League has lots of arguments in their favor, are in another league financially.”

It’s been a rapid rise to the top for a player who was left out of Stuttgart’s Champions League squad a year ago.

Aside from his impressive tally of league goals and making his Germany debut, Woltemade was the top scorer as Stuttgart won the German Cup and also top scorer for Germany’s Under-21 team at the European Championship.

Now he needs to prove he wasn’t a one-season wonder.

Woltemade initially struggled with the step up to the Bundesliga and scored just twice all season for Werder Bremen in 2023-24. Being left out of Stuttgart’s squad last season also means he has never played a European club game.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer