There are growing suggestions Nick Woltemade could leave Newcastle after just one season, and with Darwin Nunez emerging as a genuine option to replace the German, Liverpool could have the last laugh yet again.
Newcastle fans can’t stand the sight of Scousers right now, and it’s easy to see why. In the summer window, Liverpool didn’t just poach the Magpies’ star striker Alexander Isak — they also snapped up Hugo Ekitike, the very player Newcastle had pushed hardest to sign as his replacement.
When Manchester United then beat them to Benjamin Sesko, the Toon were left with no choice but to splash out £65m (€75m, $88m before add-ons) on Nick Woltemade. The rangy 24-year-old German made a bright start on Tyneside, but has since faded dramatically. He has now gone ten Premier League games without a goal or assist.
Multiple sources have insisted Newcastle have no desire to sell Woltemade this summer and are fully committed to giving the forward time to settle. However, fresh information reveals the striker is already souring on life in England and is secretly pushing for a swift return to Germany.
According to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, Newcastle will reluctantly let Woltemade go after just 12 months at the club — but only if he forces the issue.
And if the German does depart, a familiar face could be waiting in the wings: former Liverpool frontman Darwin Nunez.
The volatile Uruguayan has no future at Al-Hilal after the Saudi giants pulled off the shock signing of Karim Benzema last month. Nunez has already been left out of Al-Hilal’s Saudi Pro League squad, and a return to European football is now firmly on the cards. Crucially, the 26-year-old is willing to take a huge pay-cut on his staggering £400,000-a-week wages.
Insider Graeme Bailey has revealed that intermediaries are already holding talks with both Newcastle and Tottenham. Should Woltemade leave, it is the Magpies who will have the most urgent need for a new No.9.
During his Anfield days, Nunez became the poster boy for “miss of the season” contenders. His explosive pace and physical presence were never in doubt, yet his chronic inability to stay onside, questionable technical quality and wasteful finishing made him one of the most frustrating strikers Liverpool fans have endured in years.
Now the nightmare scenario for Newcastle is becoming frighteningly real. In the space of just two transfer windows, Liverpool have:
- Signed Newcastle’s best player (Isak)
- Signed the striker Newcastle wanted as Isak’s replacement (Ekitike)
- Watched Newcastle’s expensive successor to Isak (Woltemade) flop and get offloaded
- Seen that successor potentially replaced by a former Liverpool flop (Nunez)
For Eddie Howe and the Newcastle hierarchy, it is the ultimate humiliation. For Liverpool supporters, it is pure comedy gold.
The Toon Army already despise their Merseyside rivals. If this chain of events plays out exactly as feared this summer, that hatred will reach new levels — while the Reds sit back, laugh, and enjoy the last laugh once again.