One bad season can be an anomaly, but two can be a trend — and that is where Nick Woltemade is at.
This is becoming a problem for the player and for the German national team, as the biggest surprise about this situation might be that his omission from Germany’s call-up list really came as no surprise at all.
Woltemade has officially been left out of Jürgen Klopp’s latest Germany squad. While one omission is hardly the end of the world, the circumstances surrounding this one should raise some serious
questions about his international future.
The Juventus forward was part of Klopp’s enormous initial squad, but he has now been dropped as the Germany coach trims his options to 24 players for the upcoming Nations League fixtures against Serbia and the Netherlands.
The biggest problem? Woltemade is not exactly making a compelling case for himself at the club level. His difficult start at Juventus has raised questions about his confidence, consistency, and ability to translate his talent into regular goalscoring production.
Klopp actually addressed the situation, explaining that he has spoken with Woltemade and that the striker is heading in the right direction, but something important is still missing: an instinctive goal threat.
That is a significant concern for a player whose primary responsibility is to score goals.
Meanwhile, Niclas Füllkrug has earned a recall after scoring nine Bundesliga goals in eight appearances for Werder Bremen. Younes Ebnoutalib also retains his place, while Kai Havertz remains part ofifa the attacking picture.
Woltemade is still young, immensely talented, and has plenty of time to turn things around. However, the competition for Germany’s attacking positions is getting tougher, not easier.
The talent is there. Now he needs to start producing.
It is officially time to worry about Woltemade’s Germany prospects and where his career is headed. Sometimes, there are slumps, but this appears to be much more than that.
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