Opinion

The Nick Woltemade situation was strange.

An up and coming young German talent who having finally got his chance of regular Bundesliga football, had experienced a massive 2024/25 breakthrough season.

Last season in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart, Nick Woltemade averaged a goal every 135 minutes he was on the pitch (1,621 Bundesliga minutes played in the 2024/25 season, scoring 12 goals). The striker alternating between starting (17 times) in the league and coming off the bench (11 times).

On top of that, Nick Woltemade scored five goals last season in the German Cup, including one in the final that helped Stuttgart pick up silverware ahead of his departure.

That departure was taken for granted to be set to be Bayern Munich, with the dominant Bundesliga serial champions seeing Nick Woltemade as the eventual replacement for the ageing Harry Kane. Bayern Munich annoying Stuttgart though, making a series of offers well below the club’s valuation, the third and what proved to be the final one being £52m.

A massive hit for the Germany Under 21s (top scorer at the summer Under 21 Euros finals with six goals), the young striker also given his debut this summer...