“A bit daft”: Woltemade’s teammate takes a swipe at Rummenigge | OneFootball

Following his comments towards Newcastle United regarding the transfer of Nick Woltemade, Bayern boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge receives another response from the English side. A player from the Magpies is quite outspoken.

The debate over the mega-transfer of Nick Woltemade to Newcastle United has ignited further controversy. After Bayern's supervisory board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge publicly criticized the German striker's move to England, a teammate of Woltemade has now spoken out – and he doesn't mince words.

“Honestly, it's a bit dumb to say something like that, especially when the player has started off really well,” Anthony Gordon explained to the Northern Echo after the 4-0 victory in the Champions League against Union Saint-Gilloise. In that success, Woltemade not only scored again but also made club history: He became the first Newcastle player ever to score goals in both the Premier League and the Champions League on his starting debut. Gordon himself converted two penalties and secured the win.

Previously, Rummenigge had spoken on Blickpunkt Sport on Bavarian Radio about the missed Bayern transfer. “I can only congratulate Stuttgart for finding a – in quotes – idiot who paid so much money,” the long-time Bayern boss said in the direction of Newcastle. Background: FC Bayern wanted to sign Woltemade in the summer but was not willing to pay the 75 million euros demanded by VfB Stuttgart. “We are slowly reaching dimensions that I simply no longer find acceptable,” Rummenigge explained, emphasizing that not every demand needs to be met “to make someone happy, especially the financiers at VfB Stuttgart.”

Newcastle colleague Anthony Gordon praises Nick Woltemade

Newcastle eventually stepped in shortly before the end of the transfer period and significantly exceeded Stuttgart's demands. Reportedly, the English club paid around 90 million euros including bonuses for the 23-year-old national striker. The start has justified the Magpies so far: Woltemade scored the winning goal on his debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers and also scored in the narrow 1-2 defeat against Arsenal.

For Gordon, it is therefore incomprehensible why such derogatory comments are made from Munich about his teammate: “I don't understand why you would say something like that about a player who doesn't play for you. If he had really started badly, you might do that, but he's scored three goals in four games. That's very strange.”

Photo: IMAGO | IMAGO/Photo News / Photo News,

Honorary president Uli Hoeneß had also previously described the transfer as “excessive” and compared Newcastle's spending to Monopoly. Coach Eddie Howe already dismissed the criticism, calling the statements “irrelevant.” The market determines the price, not individual clubs, Howe emphasized.

Gordon concluded by clarifying how important Woltemade is for Newcastle: “It's a true pleasure to play with him.” Especially against Saint-Gilloise, the striker played “top,” held up the ball, and greatly helped the team.

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