Nick Woltemade claims rubbished by Borussia Dortmund chief

This week, a story broke in Germany that Borussia Dortmund were keen to attempt to land Nick Woltemade from Newcastle United this summer.

Nick Woltemade's future at Newcastle is probably assured, given it was less than a year ago that the Magpies broke their transfer record to bring the German international to the Premier League.

However, some indifferent form this season has had pundits and journalists questioning if he's the right fit for Newcastle, which in turn led to speculation that Eddie Howe could look to cut his losses and move him on in the summer.

German outlet Bild claimed this week that Borussia Dortmund are bracing themselves to lose goal machine striker Serhou Guirassy in the summer and could try to tempt Woltemade back to Germany to fill the void, potentially on loan.

Lars Ricken dismissed talk of a move for Woltemade

Those claims have quickly been rubbished by Dortmund's managing director for sport, Lars Ricken, who confirmed to Bild (via BuliNews) that there are no such plans in place, and that they aren't even expecting Guirassy to leave.

"That’s the first I’ve heard of it. No truth to it.

"We hear every transfer window that he might leave – and he’s still here.

"It’s my wish and the wish of [sporting director] Ole [Book] and [head coach] Niko Kovac that Serhou remains with us this summer. He feels extremely comfortable at the club, and there is no intention to let him go."

A loan move never sounded plausible

We never thought that it was a realistic proposition in the first place, but when it said that Dortmund would try to loan Woltemade, we knew there was no way there could be any truth to the claims.

It's not likely to be the end of speculation around Big Nick's future, but we just don't see Newcastle giving up on him so quickly when it has been such an odd season.

With a bit of time to work with him properly on the training pitch, we reckon Eddie Howe will start to get the best out of the 24-year-old. It probably won't happen this season, but next, although we wouldn't be at all surprised to see the German back among the goals before the season is out.