Juventus eye Sunderland and Manchester United strikers as Woltemade doubts grow
Juventus are reportedly looking at Manchester United’s Benjamin Šeško, Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey and Monaco’s Folarin Balogun as alternatives to keeping Nick Woltemade next summer.
La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that a permanent move for the Newcastle loanee would be difficult, pointing to his arrival on a straight loan and the substantial fee we paid to sign him from Stuttgart.
Juventus have already watched Brobbey
The newspaper says Juventus sent a representative to Amsterdam last week to watch Brobbey play for the Netherlands against Germany. His evening lasted just 35 minutes before injury forced him off.
Šeško and Balogun are also reportedly being monitored ahead of next summer, with both having made slow starts to the season.
This follows the earlier reporting on Bayern’s interest and Newcastle’s potential asking price. Juventus have no purchase option, so keeping Woltemade would require a fresh agreement with us.
Don’t bank on Woltemade staying in Turin
It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to work out why a permanent Juventus move is looking unlikely. If they’re already assessing three other strikers and sending someone to watch one of them, I don’t get the impression they’re particularly sold on keeping Woltemade.
The cost clearly matters, but taking him on loan and wanting to pay Newcastle’s asking price are two very different levels of commitment. At the moment, Juventus look quite happy to explore what else is available.
Woltemade still has time to change that with his performances. For Newcastle, though, we cannot plan next summer around Juventus becoming his eventual buyer. If we want to sell him, we may need to find another club willing to pay, or face a decision about where he fits when he returns.
