Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has questioned why Newcastle signed Nick Woltemade ahead of Nicolas Jackson this summer.

Merson has said that Jackson had proven himself in the Premier League with Chelsea over the last two years, and the Magpies have taken a massive gamble on a player who is a complete unknown instead:

“How Newcastle have not gone after him (Jackson) I do not know. They’ve gone and got that lad (Woltemade) from Germany, who we don’t know what’s going to happen, he’s never played in the Premier League, I’ve never seen him play.”

“Nicolas Jackson, he’s a handful. He made [Cole] Palmer as good as Palmer made him. I’m shocked that he’s not gone anywhere else.”

Newcastle were not convinced by Jackson

It is believed that members of Eddie Howe’s team were split on whether to sign the Senegalese international. While he has shown that he can score in the Premier League, it is felt that he has a limited ceiling.

Bayern Munich eventually ended up paying a £14m loan fee, plus an obligation to buy (based on appearances) of £56m, for Jackson, which seems like a lot of money for a player who has not scored 20 goals in a single season.

They have taken a risk on Woltemade

No Magpies supporter would dispute the fact that the club have taken a massive swing on the 23-year-old. £69m is a substantial sum for a striker who has only one good season behind him.

However, there is a feeling that Woltemade has more potential than Jackson, and based on how he helped Alexander Isak develop his game, Howe is undoubtedly the right man to get the most out of the German.

In other news, a Newcastle player has earned praise from Chelsea starlet Estevao after their time together on international duty