Juventus: A definitive rejection: “His future hangs in the balance”
Nick Woltemade’s performance in a Juventus jersey during this early stage of the season has fallen short of expectations: After five appearances as a substitute in Serie A, the German is still searching for his first goal in the domestic league, having found the back of the net only twice on the European stage. In the wake of Sunday’s 0-3 loss to Lazio, the German forward has also come under fire, both in Italy and in Germany itself.
Former German national team captain Lothar Matthäus, speaking on Sky Deutschland, painted a bleak picture of the situation: “The situation is comparable to Niclas Füllkrug’s brief stint at Milan. Woltemade didn’t fare well in England either and is struggling in Italy. His future hangs in the balance; I wonder what his next move might be. Perhaps he could return to Germany, just like Füllkrug.”
Continuing his analysis, the 1990 Ballon d’Or winner expressed strong reservations about the striker’s peace of mind in the current context: “In Füllkrug’s case, the decision to forgo part of his salary to return to Werder Bremen proved to be the right move. He’s regained his smile and a positive outlook that he hadn’t experienced elsewhere: he’s shown that financial considerations shouldn’t be the only priority.”
Regarding a potential transfer deal in the coming months, Matthäus then clarified: “We need to understand, however, whether Bundesliga clubs have the necessary resources to sign a player like Woltemade. I’m sure there could be several interested clubs, but negotiations can only begin if Woltemade decides to take a pay cut.”
The player’s current decline in status is also evident in his call-ups to the German national team. When asked to name the key attacking players for the senior national team, Matthäus limited his assessment to Kai Havertz, Niclas Füllkrug, and Nicolò Tresoldi (who is still being contested between the German national team and Roberto Mancini’s squad), excluding Woltemade from the main options.
