Newcastle sign Woltemade in club record £69m deal

Newcastle United have completed the club record signing of striker Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart on a six-year contract.

The 6ft 6in (1.98m) Germany international, 23, has joined Newcastle in a deal worth up to £69m.

This eclipses the £63m Newcastle paid to make Alexander Isak the most expensive player in the club's history three years ago.

Woltemade, who will wear the number 27, has not been registered in time to make his debut against Leeds United on Saturday.

But Woltemade will have a huge role to play moving forward, given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the future of Isak - who remains determined to join Liverpool.

"I'm really happy to be at this amazing club," he said. "From the first contact, I felt like the club really wanted me and had big plans for me.

"It's a big step in my life to leave Germany but everybody has welcomed me so well and it already feels like family. I have a really good feeling from speaking to the head coach that this is the right place for me to find my best level.

"I know the stadium from watching games on television - it looks amazing and I know the atmosphere is crazy. I'm really excited to play and start scoring goals here."

Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe added: "We're delighted to get Nick's signing over the line so quickly. He fits the profile for exactly what we have been looking to add to our attacking options.

"He's strong in a lot of areas - he has great technical ability and has proven himself to be a real threat in one of Europe's top leagues - but he's also still at an age where he has plenty of room to develop and grow here."

On first glance, Woltemade appears a battering ram of a centre forward - but that could not be further from the truth.

The towering striker is technically gifted - comfortable wriggling it out of tight spaces and linking play - and has even been nicknamed 'Woltemessi' by Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

This unique profile convinced Newcastle to break their transfer record to cap a remarkable 12 months for Woltemade.

A year ago, Woltemade was not even a household name in Germany. He was not even guaranteed a starting spot at Stuttgart when he joined the club on a free transfer from Werder Bremen.

However, his progress since then has been remarkable.

Woltemade scored 17 goals in 33 games for Stuttgart last season, including the opener in the German Cup final, as the striker won the first major trophy of his career.

He then lit up the Under-21 Euros last month and finished the tournament as top scorer with six goals as Germany reached the final, where they lost to England in extra time.

Woltemade won't have much time to settle at Newcastle - neither did Isak, incidentally, when he joined the club at a similar age and a similar stage of the window three years ago - but this is clearly a coachable player with all the attributes to go to another level under Howe and his staff.

That is certainly what Newcastle will be banking on and, given the situation with Isak, and the lack of time left in the window, the black-and-whites will have felt they had to make the move this summer.

Otherwise, there is a very real possibility that Woltemade, who also attracted bids from Bayern Munich, could simply have been unobtainable following another impressive season in the Bundesliga.

It does not feel like Newcastle are finished yet, though.

They are still active in the market and remain interested in Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen and Brentford's Yoane Wissa.

Neither deal would be straightforward to do so late in the window - there is little time for Wolves or Brentford to source a replacement before Monday's 19:00 BST deadline - but things can move quickly.

The Woltemade deal proved that.