Former German and Bayern Munich star Philip Lahm has denounced Newcastle United for spending a lot of money on his unproven compatriot Nick Urtemade.
Magpie summer was dominated by Alexander Isaac Saga, and Swedish International pushed to complete its transition to Premier League rival Liverpool.
Newcastle missed many top targets, especially in his previous position, and spent a £69 million club record fee to take him from Stuttgart to St James’ Park.
Isaac finally set off to the deadline, and Newcastle invested an additional £55 million in already injured Yorn Wissa from Brentford.
Wissa has proven at the Premier League level, scoring 19 goals for the bees last season, but Urtemed has only 29 goals in 119 appearances in his professional career.
And the legendary right-backlam praised Liverpool for buying Florian Wiltz from Bayer Leverkusen, but thinks Germany’s international Ultemade could flop in Newcastle.
Read: Petty Eddie Howe: Newcastle boss calls Liverpool “other club” after Alexander Isaac Saga
Rahm said in the Guardian: “The case of Nick Ultemaid is different. He’s 23, better than (Florian) Whartz, but after scoring two goals with Heidenheim nine months ago, he became a regular player on the first part team.
“It’s unclear how well he performs in the Champions League. He hasn’t played in the competition since Stuttgart didn’t include him in his team last season. He hasn’t scored against the big team yet.
“He is a practically unrealized player. In the European Under 21 Championship this summer, he was the top scorer. He was one of the oldest players in one of the oldest teams. The best footballers like Raminyarmal, Bellingham, Jamal Mujara and Waats have not participated in such tournaments since they have surpassed the level.
“Woltemade is unpredictable, and his dribbling, passing and shooting are not seen in textbooks. They are unique and there are no international comparisons. Unlike other top players, his center of gravity is rarely at the heart of the movement.
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“But he has not yet developed consistency or patterns — not his first touch, not his combination play, not his header timing, not his shooting. His goal is not the logical result of good action and skill. His excellence cannot be replicated.
“The 85 million euros (£73.5 million) that Newcastle is paying for Woltemade is a gamble. For players, the new contract is a once-in-a-lifetime project. He wanted to go to Bayern Munich.
