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DONE DEALS
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Real Madrid target ‘two-metre Messi’ as Xabi Alonso moves for 'unstoppable' striker
Robin Bairner
- 26 Jun 2025 11:15 BST
- 5 min read
News
Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso might have made several signings already this summer, but he is still not satisfied with his team.
Los Blancos have seen Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold arrive from Bournemouth and Liverpool respectively, while Franco Mastantuono will join from River Plate following the Club World Cup.
Although these deals have set the Spanish capital side back around €115 million in transfer fees, new boss Alonso wants more from president Florentino Perez. A striker is on the agenda at the Bernabeu.
While Real Madrid have been tentatively linked with several players over the course of the summer to act as a backup to Kylian Mbappe in the No.9 role, attention now focuses on Nick Woltemade.
Marca (via BuLiNews) and Fichajes both report that Los Blancos are in the market for the Germany U21 striker, who has been dubbed the ‘two-metre Messi’ because of his on-the-ball qualities.
Current ETV
Nick Woltemade
F (C)
Nick Woltemade
F (C)
VfB Stuttgart
ETV Range
€16.4M - €20.1M
Nick Woltemade: A wanted man
Woltemade has already been linked with numerous clubs this summer, with the Stuttgart hitman associated with moves to Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea from the Premier League. Now Real Madrid have had their interest piqued by the 23-year-old, who is the leading scorer at the ongoing U21 European Championship, having netted six times.
Stuttgart are reportedly willing to open talks around the €45-50m price point, yet this remains far in excess of the player’s Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €18.2m.
Given the striker is under contract until 2028 and there is also the prospect of the Bundesliga club selling Hugo Ekitike for a massive fee, the bargaining position of the Germans is strong.
At this price, it would be surprising to see Real Madrid complete a move, despite Alonso’s first-half experience of the player, who scored against Bayer Leverkusen last season.
"I think I can spot a good footballer quickly, and Nick caught my eye in the first week of training," Stuttgart captain Atakan Karazor told ran. "Woltemade has the technique of Messi.
"The most important thing is that we involve Woltemade sufficiently in the game. He can do that as a deep-lying striker between the lines or as a true number 9 in the opponent's penalty area. We know what we have in Nick: He's a two-meter-tall Musiala or Messi."
The expert verdict
Bundesliga journalist Ronan Murphy says that Woltemade could be a potentially excellent signing.
“Nick Woltemade is built like an old-school English targetman. Extremely tall, great at winning headers,” he tells FootballTransfers.
“From first impression, you would think he was going to be a traditional target man, but when you watch him, you are often amazed by how skilful he is with the ball at his feet.
He could be unstoppable
- German football expert Ronan Murphy“Much more technical than most giants, Woltemade has excellent technique and dribbling ability and can beat opponents at will. He is very good at holding up play and bringing team-mates into the attack, and can offer a different dimension up front for many teams.
“He still needs to work on his decision-making and his finishing, but if he can iron out these issues with his game, he could be unstoppable.”
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