The deal is close to completion. Juventus and Newcastle have agreed on a season-long loan with no option to buy. Woltemade is already on his way to Turin, where he is due to undergo his medical on Tuesday. The loan fee is expected to be around €4 million.
For Newcastle, it would represent a temporary parting of ways with a player they signed from VfB Stuttgart for around €75 million only last summer. The 24-year-old remains under contract with the Magpies until 2031.
Four goals in his first five Premier League games
Woltemade made an excellent start to life in England. He scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton on his Premier League debut and had four goals after his first five league appearances, also finding the net against Arsenal, Nottingham Forest and Brighton.
He was unable to maintain that scoring rate. Woltemade finished his first Premier League season with eight goals and three assists from 33 appearances. After scoring four times in his opening five games, he managed only four more across the remaining 28 league fixtures.
That decline in output also coincided with a significant change in his role. Woltemade was no longer used consistently as a centre-forward, instead dropping behind the striker and, at times, even into central midfield.
Woltemade is not a No.10 – and certainly not a No.8
Even at VfB Stuttgart, Woltemade was far more than a traditional target man. The 1.98-metre forward likes to drop away from the front line, protect the ball under pressure and bring team-mates into play through short combinations and layoffs. The crucial point, however, is that he does so from a striker’s starting position before making his way back into the penalty area.
That is what separates him from a conventional No.10. An attacking midfielder spends far more time between the lines, is expected to dictate play in those zones, find solutions against compact defences and initiate attacks from deeper positions. Woltemade drops off for a different reason: to draw a defender out of the back line, secure possession, connect with team-mates and then move forward again towards goal.
His numbers from his final Bundesliga season show how effective that blend was at Stuttgart. Woltemade created 1.9 chances from open play per 90 minutes – more than any other nominal centre-forward in the league. At the same time, he averaged almost ten touches in the opposition penalty area per 90. He was heavily involved in combination play without sacrificing his presence close to goal.
Stuttgart’s attack was built to react to those movements. When Woltemade came short, other players attacked the spaces he vacated, while he himself moved forward again after releasing the ball. That allowed him to act as a link between midfield and attack without becoming the team’s primary playmaker.
At Newcastle, that balance gradually disappeared. When Woltemade was used permanently behind the striker or even as a No.8, he was asked far more often to carry the ball forward from deeper positions, beat opponents on the dribble and create the connection to the attack himself. Those demands are very different from the ones that brought out the best in him at Stuttgart.
The fact that Woltemade is technically good enough to play in midfield does not mean that is where he is best used. His qualities are most effective when he is allowed to drop off as a striker – not when dropping deep becomes his permanent starting position.
A peripheral role at the World Cup
The more difficult second half of the season also affected Woltemade’s standing with Germany. He was included in the squad for the 2026 World Cup but featured only in the round-of-32 tie against Paraguay. After coming on, he played 32 minutes. He then missed a penalty in the shootout as Germany were eliminated.
A move to Turin would therefore also give him the chance to put himself more firmly back in the national-team picture.
Why Juventus could be a good fit
At Juventus, Woltemade would work under Luciano Spalletti, who has been looking for a physically imposing but technically strong centre-forward. Randal Kolo Muani is already in the squad and offers a different profile, with his game built more around pace and runs in behind. Woltemade would give Spalletti another option in attack.
The most interesting role would be one in which Woltemade starts as the nominal centre-forward but is encouraged to drop between the lines. From there, he could secure possession and bring players such as Kenan Yildiz and the wide attackers into play before moving back towards the box himself. That would resemble his role at Stuttgart far more closely than a permanent position in central midfield.
Space in the Juventus attack could also open up through Jonathan David’s expected departure to Atlético Madrid. For Woltemade, the season-long loan could therefore be more than a simple change of scenery. The key question will be whether Juventus can make better use of his unusual blend of centre-forward and link player – while also keeping him closer to the areas where he is most dangerous.
