Juventus transfer twist as Nick Woltemade Newcastle United decision already made
Newcastle United transfers: Nick Woltemade’s future is becoming increasingly unclear after a fresh twist involving Juventus now being reported.
Juventus signed Nick Woltemade on loan from Newcastle United on transfer deadline day in a move that was made possible due to Jonathan David’s loan exit from the Serie A club to join Atletico Madrid.
David’s loan triggered a chain reaction of deadline day moves as he was effectively replaced by Woltemade from Newcastle, who then landed Matias Fernandez-Pardo from Lille as a result.
Newcastle sporting director Ross Wilson admitted the Fernandez-Pardo transfer was ‘only possible’ due to Woltemade’s exit, which freed up a significant amount in wages while also commanding a £3.5million loan fee. That kept the club compliant with the Premier League’s financial rules as well as their UEFA settlement agreement.
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Juventus also had to comply with their own UEFA settlement, meaning the fee they received for David was nominally larger than what they paid Newcastle for Woltemade.
The German has had an unusual start to life in Italy, facing scrutiny from the media as Juve struggle in Serie A. Woltemade has been limited exclusively to substitute appearances in Serie A but has started all three of Juventus’ Europa League games, scoring in each one.
On Thursday night against Rennes, the 24-year-old grabbed an assist and scored a penalty which earned him praise from the Italian media despite Juventus being held to a 2-2 draw.
Juventus have already made Nick Woltemade decision
Woltemade’s loan move to Juventus has no break clause or buy option and it is understood Juventus do not intend to make the move permanent. That will leave Newcastle with a decision to make next summer regarding the German international.
But a potential transfer that could have a knock-on impact at Juventus is David’s loan at Atletico. Unlike Juventus’ loan for Woltemade, Atletico have a £21million option to make David’s loan permanent.
David and Woltemade have identical goal records for their new clubs with three goals in nine matches across all competitions. Although all of David’s goals have come in La Liga matches as he is yet to get off the mark in the Champions League.
According to Sky Sport Germany, Atletico are open to triggering their option to make David’s loan move from Juventus permanent. More importantly, the Canadian forward is also understood to be keen.
Juventus look to find striker solution
David’s potential permanent departure will leave Juventus with a decision to make on the striker front next summer. Their stance regarding Woltemade has been made clear but still has plenty of time to change before the end of the campaign.
But sources in Italy claim Juve are already drawing up potential striker targets with Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey among the club’s targets.
The Bianconeri are claimed to have an excellent relationship with Brobbey’s agent, Meissa Ndiaye, who also represents Jeremie Boga and Khephren Thuram.
Brobbey has been an effective player for Sunderland since joining the club from Ajax last season. The 24-year-old scored a last-minute winner in the Tyne-Wear derby at St James’ Park back in March and recently netted a hat-trick at the Etihad Stadium in a 5-3 defeat to Manchester City.