Could Werder have kept Woltemade? Ex-boss hits back at criticism | OneFootball

Stuttgart pocketed 85 million euros this summer for Nick Woltemade, after he joined them on a free transfer from Bremen in the summer of 2024. A really good deal for VfB. Are people in Bremen now kicking themselves because they only received a training compensation (4.25 million euros)?

One of those involved at the time, Frank Baumann, also left the Green-Whites in 2024 and is now working at Schalke 04. When asked by 'Bild', however, Baumann rejected accusations that he had missed out on the Woltemade deal. "It can only be a failure if you failed to do everything possible to keep him. That was definitely not the case," said the 49-year-old.

At the time, Woltemade was one of the youngest players ever to play in the Bundesliga for Bremen. "For Werder's standards, as a youth player, he had one of the best contracts of all time. We tried to extend his contract on very good terms more than a year in advance," Baumann continued.

Therefore, he "cannot see any failure on Werder's part." Woltemade then decided to take a different path. "The belief that he could become a top player was always there," Baumann added.

According to transfer insiders, Werder only began serious talks during the last season of his contract, despite it running out, the 'Bild' report continues. And apparently, that was too late to keep Woltemade.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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