Nick Woltemade: Are Newcastle ‘idiots’ for spending £69m on German striker?

It is very hard to pinpoint a player’s true value.

The bottom line, like anything, is what someone is willing to pay.

So Woltemade is worth what Newcastle paid for him: £69m.

One of the only reference points publicly available in football to assess valuations is the comprehensive database of website Transfermarkt, which provides transfer data for BBC Sport.

Now there is a catch in this case. Woltemade’s last valuation €30m (£26.1m) was at the start of June.

What happened next? He had a breakout few months.

His last Transfermarkt valuation came a day after winning his first senior cap with Germany.

He then spearheaded Germany’s front line at the Under-21 Euros, winning the Golden Boot and being named in the team of the tournament.

Undoubtedly that would add to his value, but would those exploits add £43m?

Among other players to feature in England’s win over Germany at the Euros, Nottingham Forest signed Omari Hutchinson and James McAtee for a combined £67.5m, while Bayer Leverkusen signed Jarell Quansah for £35m from Liverpool.

Woltemade was the seventh most expensive arrival to the Premier League in the summer.

But of the 26 most expensive new signings by top-flight clubs, Woltemade’s valuation was the lowest on Transfermarkt.

The same website values striker Nicolas Jackson, signed by Bayern on loan from Chelsea, at €50m (£43.5m). Bayern signed Jackson for a £14.3m loan fee with a conditional obligation to buy for £56.2m.

Wissa, 29, who was signed by Newcastle from Brentford in August, joined Eddie Howe’s side for £55m and has a €32m (£27.8m) valuation on the site.