Two years Nick Woltemade found himself on the bench in the third division of German football. Now he is being pursued by Bayern Munich as competition for Harry Kane and has the chance to break English hearts in the Under-21 Euros finals.
Woltemade, or Woltemessi as he’s referred to by his Stuttgart team-mates, is deceiving in that his 6ft5′ frame does not tell the story of his capabilities.
There is a grace and an almost playful elegance to his technique on the ball which is where parallels have been drawn to Jamal Musiala, while his pace and dribbling skills are more resplendent of a tricky winger a foot shorter.
‘His combination skills are special; you rarely see that,’ Stuttgart boss Sebastian Hoeneß has said of Woltemade, who is this tournament’s top scorer with seven goals.
‘He has very fast feet, good ball control, and strong dribbling in tight spaces.’
The fashion conscious forward is a hit on Instagram as well as the pitch and while he dislikes his numerous Messi-related nicknames – two-metre Messi is another – he is so unique as one of Germany’s most up-and-coming stars.
Nick Woltemade (left) could be Germany’s danger man against England in the U21 Euros final
Stuttgart forward Woltemade is the leading scorer in this summer’s tournament with six goals
Woltemade has been compared to a football icon — one of his nicknames is ‘two-metre Messi’
His six goals of this tournament have varied: three with his right, one with his left, and two with his head.
Score against England tonight and he will equal the most goals in this tournament since the group stage was introduced in 2000, drawing level with Marcus Berg (Sweden) in 2009 and Luca Waldschmidt (Germany) in 2019 on seven. Score a brace and he will stand alone in the record books.
Through four games – he sat out against England in the group due to a bruised foot – Woltemade has six goals and three assists on 40 per cent conversion rate. Add to that he’s created five ‘big chances’ for team-mates and made 12 key passes.
Useful as a secondary shadow striker, an all-out No 9 or operating as a No 10, England’s toughest assignment has been saved for the final. No player they’ve faced presents so many contrasting problems as ‘Woltemessi’.
