Woltemade's Not Packing His Bags: Bayern Rumours Shot Down as Newcastle Eye Fresh Talent

Alright, footy fans, pull up a stool at the pub and let's chat about Newcastle United's latest transfer tittle-tattle. The Magpies are having a bit of a wobble right now – after rubbing shoulders with the Champions League spots, finishing fourth, seventh, and fifth in recent Premier League campaigns, they're sat a disappointing 10th. Strings of wins? More like strings of draws and defeats. But amid the gloom, there's good news for Eddie Howe's troops: their big summer signing Nick Woltemade isn't eyeing the exit door back to Germany.

You might've seen the whispers from German rag Bild, suggesting the towering frontman – who bagged seven Premier League goals before Christmas – fancies a reunion with old mates at Stuttgart or even a crack at Bayern Munich, who chased him hard last summer but came up short. Woltemade hit the ground running after Newcastle splashed £69 million to prise him from Stuttgart, replacing the departed Alexander Isak. But form's a fickle mistress; the lad's drawn a blank in his last nine league outings. Dry spell or not, it turns out those continental daydreams are pure pie in the sky.

Enter Bayern Space, a Bayern journo with a hefty 32.5k followers on X (formerly Twitter, for the dinosaurs among us). He's poured cold water on the lot, declaring there's 'no truth' to the claims. Straight from Woltemade's camp: the striker's 'fully focused on establishing himself at the highest level in the Premier League and feels increasingly validated in that decision with every passing week.' Music to Geordie ears, that. Remember last summer? Vincent Kompany's Bayern puffed and panted after the German goal machine but couldn't quite seal the deal when Newcastle swooped in like seagulls on chips.

Speaking of Bayern's brass, their board bigwig Karl-Heinz Rummenigge didn't hold back when the deal went through. 'I can only congratulate those in Stuttgart for finding – I'll use quotation marks here – an idiot who paid that much money,' he scoffed. 'Because we certainly wouldn’t have done that in Munich.' Ouch! Bitter pill or brutally honest? Either way, it's a right laugh imagining Rummenigge's face if Woltemade rocked up at the Allianz Arena now. Awkward doesn't even cover it. Bayern wanted him bad enough to bid, but not daft enough (in their eyes) to match Newcastle's wallet-waving antics.

Newcastle aren't sitting idle, mind. They're casting eyes over Union Saint-Gilloise hotshot Promise David, who's got the scouts buzzing this season. West Ham, Leeds, Sunderland, and Brighton are in the mix too – a proper Championship and Prem scrap brewing there. Defensively, the Magpies are sniffing around Roma's rising star Daniele Ghilardi, who's been turning heads with his recent form. And hold onto your pints: word is Manchester United are gearing up for a whopping £87 million summer swoop for winger Anthony Gordon. Red Devils eyeing black-and-white flair? That'd sting, but Howe's built a squad that's turning heads.

Look, Newcastle's season hasn't gone to plan, but with Woltemade knuckling down and fresh targets on the radar, there's hope yet. The lad's got the tools to terrorise Premier League backlines – seven goals before halfway proves it. A few more notches on the post, and those German ghosts will be forgotten. As reported by Ciaran McCarthy at TEAMtalk, this rumour-busting is a timely boost. Fancy more transfer yarn? Keep your eyes peeled on TheFootball.News – we're your go-to for the inside track, no chasers needed.

So, over to you lot: is Woltemade the man to fire Newcastle back up the table, or should they ship him out? And that Gordon to United link – dream or nightmare? Crack on in the comments, and cheers for reading. Here's to the Magpies soaring again – or at least not sinking further!