Bayern chief claims Newcastle were ‘idiots’ to pay so much for Nick Woltemade | OneFootball

Bayern Munich chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has branded Newcastle as ‘idiots’ for stumping up such a sizeable fee for German striker Nick Woltemade, despite his bright start to life in the Premier League.

Woltemade was brought in from Stuttgart in the final days of the summer transfer window for a club-record fee of £69m, acting as the replacement for Alexander Isak who would get his £125m move to Liverpool on deadline day.

The Germany international has kicked into gear quickly on Tyneside, with the 23-year-old notching two goals in three league appearances to date.

His fast start acts as sore viewing for Bayern, who were themselves interested in signing the frontman and saw three bids rejected from their Bundesliga counterparts before watching the Magpies snap him up.

But Rummenigge, who acts in a supervisory role on the Bayern board, has made a jibe at Newcastle for meeting Stuttgart’s lofty asking price.

Nick Woltemade scored his second Newcastle goal on the weekend against Arsenal (Getty Images)

“I'll be honest: When this story with Woltemade and then the demand from Stuttgart came up, I, as well as Uli Hoeneß, Herbert Hainer, Jan Dreesen, and Max Eberl (Bayern board members), said - folks, we're slowly getting to a level that I simply don't find acceptable anymore,” he told BR Sport.

“We shouldn't fulfill every demand to make someone happy, especially the financiers at VfB Stuttgart.

“I can only congratulate those in Stuttgart for finding - I'll use quotation marks here - an idiot who paid that much money. Because we certainly wouldn't have done that in Munich.”

In response to Rummenigge's comments, Stuttgart executive Alexander Wehrle told Bild: "We are always happy when we get congratulations from Munich."

Bayern were said to have been left “surprised and disappointed” by Woltemade’s move to Newcastle, having been told by Stuttgart that he was not for sale.

Woltemade scored 17 goals for Stuttgart last season in 33 appearances in all competitions, including 12 goals in 28 matches in the Bundesliga, and was then the top scorer in the summer’s European Under-21 Championships.