Woltemade not listening to noise on homecoming

Nick Woltemade will face German opposition for the first time since leaving his homeland to join Newcastle United in August when the Magpies take on Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Wednesday, and he will do so with zero thought of those who questioned his big-money switch to Tyneside.

Newcastle signed Woltemade from Stuttgart in a club-record £69million move that was met with derision by some, most noticeably a key figure at the club who reportedly tried to secure the Germany striker’s signature multiple times prior to him heading to the Premier League.

Bayern Munich board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge congratulated Stuttgart on finding an “idiot” to pay that fee for Woltemade.

But Woltemade has impressed in the opening months of his Newcastle career, scoring seven goals and providing one assist in all competitions.

The 23-year-old unsurprisingly faced questions about the critique from Rummenigge when speaking to reporters in a press conference on Tuesday, and he made it clear such remarks are of no concern.

“To be honest, I don’t care,” Woltemade said. “I think a lot of people speak about me and, if I would listen to everything, what it’s saying about me, I can’t focus on myself anymore. So I don’t read it.

“I’m just taking care of myself, and focus on myself, and that’s the way that helps me the best. At the end I’m not deciding what someone is paying for me, but I can say I’m really happy that Newcastle is paying this for me because I’m really happy that I’m now in Newcastle.”

Woltemade excited to play with Wissa

Woltemade was brought in along with Yoane Wissa to fill the void up front left by the British-record departure of Alexander Isak, who left for Liverpool in a £125million move. Isak has scored only twice for Liverpool since.

Wissa suffered a knee injury on international duty with DR Congo shortly after his deadline day move, but finally made his debut off the bench in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Burnley.

And Woltemade, who is seen more as a number 10 than as a typical number nine, is relishing linking up with the former Brentford man.

“I’m really happy living in Newcastle and I’m really excited about playing with Yoane,” Woltemade added. “He’s a really good, quality player. He’s a player who can score goals and also he’s a nice guy. He brings really positive vibes in the team because he’s laughing a lot and gives good energy. We can play together.”

Newcastle boss praises strike pair

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe made a point of speaking with Woltemade to try to glean insight on Leverkusen as they try to claim an away win at the BayArena that would all but seal their place in the knockout rounds of the Champions League.

Howe still sees plenty of untapped potential in Woltemade following his strong start, and is similarly hopeful about the impact Wissa can have.

“Nick’s done brilliantly,” Howe said. “I’ve just had the pleasure of half an hour with him on the way here and he’s just a great person, a really good character.

“Nick’s got the ability to laugh at himself and that’s always a good quality to have. It was great to talk to him about the German league and the German mentality.

“On the pitch, he’s done really well. It’s very difficult to come in and do what he’s done. He’s fitted in superbly. He’s really bought into the team ethos in terms of giving for the team, whether that’s out of possession, whether that’s coming back and defending set plays, which he’s actually done really well for us, and, of course, scoring goals.

“But there’s still so much more to come from Nick. I’m excited about what he can be.”

On Wissa, Howe added: “He looks positive, body language is very good. He’s been boosted by coming on the pitch and he’s ready to take on minutes. 

“The challenge we have now is limited training times between games, which we have to get right.

“He showed the qualities he had in those 20 minutes, and he will only get better.”