Nick Woltemade future: Eddie Howe makes feelings clear on Newcastle striker after “unhappy” reports

Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has played down suggestions that striker Nick Woltemade is “unhappy” at St James’ Park.

The Germany international was signed by the Magpies from Stuttgart from a club-record £69m last summer following the record-breaking departure of Alexander Isak to Liverpool.

Woltemade hit the ground running under Howe, scoring on his Premier League debut in a 1-0 home win over Wolves in September, before netting in three successive games against Arsenal, Union SG and Nottingham Forest.

The 24-year-old has scored 10 goals in total in 39 appearances for Newcastle across all competitions, but he has only made the net ripple once in his last 16 matches over the last couple of months.

Earlier this week, a report from German news outlet Bild claimed that Woltemade has been ‘unhappy at Newcastle for ages’ and would rather return to former club Stuttgart or even join Bayern Munich than stay at St James’ Park.

The report goes on to add that Newcastle would be ‘open’ to selling Woltemade this summer, as long as they recoup as much of their £69m investment as possible.

“Really happy” Woltemade is “one of the lads” at Newcastle

Howe shut down the speculation surrounding Woltemade at a press conference on Friday ahead of Newcastle’s Premier League trip to Manchester City on Saturday night.

The Magpies boss told reporters: "He seems really happy. What you see is what you get with Nick. He's always laughing, been very good in the dressing room.

"He's built a really close relationship with Malick (Thiaw) which is great to see him build that with one of his teammates but he's also well-liked by the group. That's a big thing for any player.

"The guys really respect and like his personality and the fact he's very much a team player. He doesn't take himself too seriously, he's one of the lads, so when I hear reports that he's not happy, that's not the player I'm seeing.

"He's looked really good on the pitch in the last few games, performing at a really high level."

Woltemade himself has previously spoken about how happy he feels at Newcastle and how much he appreciates the support he received from the club’s supporters.

Woltemade grateful to receive support from Newcastle fans

Speaking to reporters after scoring an own goal in Newcastle’s 1-0 loss at Sunderland in mid-December, Woltemade said: "When I saw how the fans reacted when I came into the game even the messages I got, I felt really good.

"I'm really happy that I play at a club like this. That's what I wanted to give back to the fans and I just can say 'thank you' to everyone who texted me. I got maybe 95% good messages and that's not normal when you score an own goal in a derby and lose the game, but I'm really happy and thankful to play for the club.

"When I came on the pitch [against Fulham in the EFL Cup], the whole crowd were singing my name. This is not normal and I'm really happy to play in a club like this, to give me a good feeling.

“That's why I think I played good, because I knew the fans are behind me. The fans give me the confidence."

Woltemade may not have scored in Newcastle’s emphatic 6-1 Champions League win over Qarabag FK on Wednesday night, but he excelled in a deeper forward role behind Anthony Gordon, who scored four first-half goals as a central striker.

Howe will consider selecting Woltemade in the same role against Man City with Gordon leading the line, with the German more likely to feature now that fellow forward Yoane Wissa is expected to remain sidelined with a “nasty” knock.