Eddie Howe rubbishes talk of Nick Woltemade being unhappy at Newcastle United amid rumours of return to Germany
The German media's obsession with Nick Woltemade is starting to look eerily similar to how the Italian media dealt with Sandro Tonali's move to Newcastle United.
It seems they just can't accept the fact that one of their hottest young players has moved to England, and they will do whatever they can to give their homeland fans hope that he'll be back soon.
Bayern Munich really struggled to come to terms with the fact that Nick Woltemade moved to Newcastle United in the summer over them, but Stuttgart set a price, and Newcastle matched it; that's not our fault.
This week on journalist in Germany claimed that Woltemade was unhappy at Newcastle, which, while it appeared in a jokey column, was taken and spouted as fact by other publications.
Eddie Howe is happy with Nick Woltemade and doesn't see any issues from the player himself
Eddie Howe was asked about Big Nick in his press conference on Friday morning, where the gaffer said that if he's unhappy, he's certainly not showing it.
“Yeah, he seems really, really happy,” Howe said. “He seems what you see is what you get, I think, with Nick. I think he's always laughing. He's been very good in the dressing room, actually.
“He's built a really close friendship with Malik [Thiaw], which is great to see him build that strong relationship with one of his teammates. But also, I think he's well-liked by the group.
“I think that's a really big thing for any player. I think the guys really respect and like his personality and the fact that he's very much a team player.
“He's a likable guy. He's always, as I say, got good humour, doesn't take himself too seriously. He's one of the lads.
“So when I see reports or hear reports that he's not happy, that's not the player that I'm seeing.
“So he's looked really good on the pitch, I have to say, in the last few games. I've been really, really happy with him. He's performing at a really high level. So I don't see any issues.”
If Nick Woltemade is unhappy, he's doing a good job of hiding it
It hasn't been the smoothest of seasons for Nick Woltemade since his record-breaking move to Newcastle. He made a strong start after being thrown into the starting lineup much earlier than planned, but then went 14 games without a goal, which became a huge talking point.
He's since been dropped into a deeper role by Eddie Howe, and he looks far more comfortable playing off a striker rather than being the focal point.
There's still plenty of talk over whether he's the right fit for Newcastle and whether they'll persist with him next season, but none of that seems to be coming from the man himself.
