New star striker for Germany? He finally escapes his double shadow | OneFootball

The German U21 team is currently riding a wave. The Woltemade-Weiper wave.

Both strikers are delivering goal after goal at the European Championship. Both strikers also scored in the semifinal against France. Both strikers are almost the same height. Nelson Weiper is only six centimeters shorter than the 1.98-meter-tall Nick Woltemade.

But that’s where the similarities end. Especially at the start of the Euros, the Stuttgart player drew all the attention to himself. Three goals against Slovenia’s U21, as well as a goal and two assists against the Czech U21. Woltemade was the number one topic of conversation.

Woltemade here, Woltemessi there. That was the case until the third group match against the English U21, when he was given a break. He had taken a knock to the foot against the Czech Republic and preferred to rest. “He’s happy for the others, doesn’t want to be in the spotlight. Team success is the most important thing for him,” said Antonio di Salvo after the win against England (quote via 'Sport1').

This gave Nelson Weiper a chance, which he seized immediately. In his first start against England, he scored a goal, and in his subsequent substitute appearance against Italy, he added another. Most recently, against France, the Mainz player was again rewarded with a starting spot and scored once more.

While di Salvo initially preferred Nicolo Tresoldi in the position ahead of Woltemade at the start of the tournament, that has since changed. Weiper stands out not only because of his goals, but also because he tirelessly annoys opponents in duels and covers a lot of ground.

In today’s Euro final, he could once again push Tresoldi to the bench. But pushing others aside isn’t what matters to him, as Weiper made clear after his goal against England: “That’s a shitty question. The guys are all great. We’re not here to push each other out. It’s a tournament, everyone supports everyone here. I support the guys who play.”

Now, however, the Mainz player is playing himself, being noticed and seen more. He’s stepping out of the shadows. A similar scenario could unfold at Mainz next season. According to media reports, Jonathan Burkardt is set to move to Eintracht Frankfurt. Last season, Weiper was stuck behind him, playing only 700 minutes in total. But he could escape this shadow too if Burkardt leaves.

The Rheinhessen don’t want to sign an expensive replacement. Sporting director Christian Heidel has already confirmed this (quote via 'Sport1'): “I can rule out us signing players for 15 to 20 million euros.” He also trusts Weiper to follow in Burkardt’s footsteps and “develop in a similar way.”

With five goal involvements in 23 Bundesliga matches, he has already shown flashes of his quality: he’s involved in a goal every 140 minutes. His current Euro rate with the German U21 is even better (a goal involvement every 65 minutes; stats via 'transfermarkt.de').

He could showcase himself once again in the final. Maybe he’ll score in front of Julian Nagelsmann, who plans to be in the stadium? The 20-year-old can only play one more U21 tournament. After that, the question arises whether he’ll make it to the senior national team, where Woltemade has already had a chance to impress.

At the very least, the DFB should be careful not to hesitate too long. The striker has an Albanian mother, so he could also play for the Albanian national team. “They’ve already reached out and want me for the senior national team. It makes me proud when a country’s senior team wants you,” he revealed after his goal against England, according to 'kicker'.

However, for now he wants to prove himself with the U21s and play for Germany as long as possible. “If it doesn’t work out for Germany at some point, I see that as a very good option,” Weiper made clear.

Playing for the DFB remains the dream. And who knows? Maybe one day the senior national team will also be riding the Woltemade-Weiper wave at a tournament.

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

📸 BRANISLAV RACKO - AFP or licensors