Newcastle move for striker Woltemade 'developing'

Nick Woltemade is having a medical before completing his move to Newcastle

Newcastle United's move for Nick Woltemade is "developing", but head coach Eddie Howe has offered no guarantee about the future of Alexander Isak.

Woltemade, 23, arrived on Tyneside on Thursday and is set to have a medical on Friday before completing his transfer from Stuttgart.

There has been no confirmation of a fee, but a source suggested it would be a club record - beating the £63m they paid for Isak three years ago.

Howe indicated it was unlikely Woltemade would be registered in time to make his Premier League debut against Leeds United on Saturday, but stressed "the most important thing is we try to bring a centre-forward in".

"Things are moving and developing in a good way at the moment," he said. "Until things are done, I can't confirm anything - but fingers crossed."

Should Newcastle conclude the signing of Woltemade, it could give Liverpool encouragement to make another move for Isak in the final days of the transfer window, after the champions had a £110m bid rejected last month.

In a statement last week, Newcastle said they did not foresee their conditions for selling Isak, 25, being met - namely securing two quality strikers, as well as receiving a suitable offer from Liverpool.

Agreeing a deal for Woltemade feels like a significant first step, and Howe said the club were "still looking" because there was "an opportunity to maybe improve the squad further".

He again made it clear Isak could be reintegrated in the squad but said it was "difficult to give any clarity on the future".

"Of course I have a preference but ultimately you've got to look at all the information," he said. "I have a footballing preference, but then you have got to take everything else into account.

"You can't just be oblivious to things that have happened so I'm in that position where I'm trying to separate myself from it because I have no control over it. I'll let everything take its course and deal with the eventuality."

Howe said he had to separate himself from the emotion involved, particularly when Isak had stopped training with his team-mates.

"I took the view then that the squad needed me to be the best me and be totally focused on them," he said.

"This situation was not going to be resolved quickly and I had no control over bringing any resolution to it, either. I was in that position where I took the call to move forward with the squad."

'Not the finished product' - who is Woltemade?

The move caps a remarkable 12 months for Bremen-born frontman Woltemade, who has two caps for his country.

Woltemade was not even a regular starter at first for Stuttgart after joining on a free transfer from Werder Bremen last summer.

But the 6ft 6in striker went on to score 17 goals in 33 games, including the opener in the German Cup final as he 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 3-2 to England.

With qualities likened to Jamal Musiala and Lionel Messi, the towering Woltemade was called a "two-metre Messi-Musiala" by Stuttgart captain Atakan Karazor in an interview back in February.

German football expert Raphael Honigstein says Bayern Munich had shown interest in Woltemade.

"He has a lovely first touch, but he is much more than that - he can play the number 10 as well because he is really skilful on the ball and is somebody who Bayern very much wanted," Honigstein told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"They wanted him as Harry Kane's back-up or eventual successor, but now he is going to Newcastle instead.

"I think Isak is all action, fantastic in the press, makes runs, can play wide, and cut inside. Of course, in theory, Woltemade can do all these things as well, but he is about control, he is about skill in tight spaces, he is a bit of a battering ram.

"If his development continues, he could be on a similar level to Isak, but the style is very different, and Newcastle will adjust, and he will adjust.

"I am a little worried that he is not the finished product yet - he only really started being a regular at the Bundesliga level in December. So it has been an almighty six months that catapulted him to being one of the hottest prospects."

'Unique profile' - analysis

"Good feet for a big man."

The classic football cliche is less common these days, but as a statement it neatly encapsulates Woltemade.

The Germany forward is 6ft 6in and has exceptional close control, attributes that have earned him a multitude of monikers including 'Wolte-messi' and 'the Tower of Stuttgart'.

But his unique profile aside, the 23-year-old is already rubbing shoulders with Europe's elite.

Since the start of last season only two players in Europe's top five leagues have averaged more touches in the opposition box - Kylian Mbappe and Mohamed Salah.

Warnings that Woltemade is not yet the finished article must still be heeded, and he struggled to make an impact at times in his first senior international appearances against Portugal and France in the Nations League in June.

But Isak was far from a complete player when he first joined Newcastle for £63m in 2022.

The Swede had scored just six league goals for Real Sociedad in the previous season - almost four fewer than his expected goals total of 9.78.

Woltemade was born on Valentine's Day and - while he will need time to adapt and grow in the Premier League - there's already a lot for Newcastle fans to love.