Alexander Wehrle put Stuttgart interests first before Nick Woltemade sale to Newcastle

The 22-year-old striker, who joined Stuttgart from Werder Bremen in 2022, moved to England's north for a base fee of 85 million euros, the highest sale in the Swabians' history. Bayern Munich were also in the race, with Sport Bild reporting that Uli Hoeness personally pushed for the move while sporting director Max Eberl stepped back.

Wehrle admitted the club considered rejecting Newcastle's offer but said their position was eventually clear. "Of course we discussed it. Ultimately, however, our internally defined pain threshold was exceeded, which is why we went ahead with the transfer," he told Stuttgarter Nachrichten.

The Stuttgart CEO stressed the importance of protecting the club's wider interests. "We must always do justice to the overall responsibility for VfB when making difficult decisions," said the 50-year-old. He added: "We will deal with exceptional offers, and even though the timing was very late, we must always keep the club's overall interests in mind."

Reflecting on the summer, Wehrle described Stuttgart's transfer window as remarkable. "It was an extraordinary and special transfer summer. It was certainly not an everyday occurrence in terms of intensity and the media coverage," he remarked.

Woltemade had become central to Sebastian Hoeness' side, scoring 13 goals last season, and his departure leaves a significant void in attack. The coach admitted his influence will be hard to replace. "Nick was a central part of our offensive play. We now need to find new solutions and spread the responsibility across the team," Hoeness said during pre-season.

Stuttgart have responded by bringing in Mahmoud Dahoud on loan from Brighton to strengthen midfield, but supporters will be keen to see whether further reinforcements arrive before the window closes. With Bundesliga and Europa League campaigns ahead, the club now face the challenge of reshaping their squad without their talisman.