Newcastle reach Nick Woltemade loan agreement with Juventus - Fabrizio Romano
Newcastle United have reached a verbal agreement with Juventus for Nick Woltemade to move to Turin on loan.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Juventus will pay Newcastle a £3.5m loan fee, with no option or obligation to buy included in the deal. Romano has given it the “here we go”, although neither club has officially announced the move yet.
There had been some late doubt over whether Woltemade had given his final approval. However, Gianluca Di Marzio now reports that the German has said yes and will travel to Italy for his medical and contract signing.
No buy clause is the key
Let’s not dress this up. Sending your club-record signing out on loan barely 12 months after paying a package reportedly worth around £69m is a pretty brutal admission.
Woltemade scored eight goals and registered three assists across 33 Premier League appearances last season, but never looked completely at home in the high-intensity football demanded first by Eddie Howe and now Matthias Jaissle.
However, the lack of a purchase clause matters.
Newcastle are not giving Juventus the chance to borrow Nick, rebuild his confidence and then sign him cheaply. Florian Plettenberg also reports that Juventus will cover his salary, so Newcastle receive a fee, remove his wages for the season and retain control over what happens next.
That is much better than accepting a cut-price permanent exit after one difficult year.
The move also follows Borussia Dortmund’s earlier contact and Napoli’s recent enquiry. Those approaches never moved beyond the exploratory stage. Juventus have arrived with actual terms.
Fernandez-Pardo makes the exit possible
Newcastle were never likely to allow Woltemade to leave without bringing in another attacker.
That condition appears to have been met after the club struck an agreement to sign Matias Fernandez-Pardo from Lille. The Belgian has arrived on Tyneside ahead of his medical, with earlier reporting making clear that his arrival would unlock Woltemade’s departure.
Fernandez-Pardo is not a direct replacement. He can play across the front line and as a 10, while Yoane Wissa and Will Osula remain Newcastle’s more natural centre-forward options.
He does, though, give Jaissle another quick and versatile attacker who appears more naturally suited to the football he wants to play.
All in all, this is a sensible move that suits all parties. Woltemade gets a major opportunity to rebuild his confidence, while Newcastle avoid selling low and retain the chance to welcome back a better player or find a stronger permanent market next summer.
