Woltemade

Antoine Semenyo, Bournemouth, £8.1m – Nottingham Forest (h)

Like Arsenal defence and Erling Haaland, Semenyo is essential at the moment.

For some reason he wasn’t given a second assist at Crystal Palace last week, which would probably have given him some bonus points too.

This match-up against Forest, a team in turmoil who have conceded 15 times in eight games, is not one where you’d want to go against Semenyo.

Justin Kluivert, Bournemouth, £7m – Nottingham Forest (h)

Every team needs a punt or two and Kluivert is one.

The Dutchman started his first game of the season last week and you’d expect him to be a first-choice player moving forward.

I’m backing his form from last season here, where he was FPL gold with 12 goals and six assists – as well as the juicy match-up

He should still be Bournemouth’s penalty taker too.

Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United, £8.9m – Brighton (h)

It’s interesting to see that Fernandes has dropped in price and it’s probably because FPL managers lost faith when he missed his second penalty of the season at Brentford.

But Fernandes doesn’t normally miss those and, had he scored both, he’d be the clear second-highest midfield points scorer this season behind Semenyo.

Ifs and buts, of course, but every weekend he has so many paths to points.

Fernandes has made 22 key passes – five more than any other player – has taken 18 shots, four big chances and missed out on defcon twice by just a point.

Cody Gakpo, Liverpool, £7.5m – Brentford (a)

With Mohamed Salah underperforming, Gakpo is much cheaper and just as effective as a route into the Liverpool attack.

He could have had a hat-trick on Sunday against Manchester United and, if you are a fan of underlying data like me, look at these stats.

Gakpo is top or joint-top among Liverpool players for:

At some point Liverpool will click, and Gakpo is likely to play a part when they do.

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.

NICK WOLTEMADE has become Newcastle’s new record signing – as Alexander Isak’s dream move to Liverpool edges closer.

The Magpies have forked out £69m to Stuttgart for the giant 6ft 6in German international, 23, to end their summer-long pursuit of a new frontman.

3

3

Now they will ramp up efforts to bring in either Wolves star Jorgen Strand Larsen or Brentford’s wantaway Yoane Wissa before Monday’s deadline day as on-strike Isak sweats on his future.

Woltemade, Eddie Howe’s fifth recruit this summer and who will wear the No27 shirt, said: “I’m really happy to be at this amazing club. From the first contact, I felt like the club really wanted me and had big plans for me.

“It’s a big step in my life to leave Germany but everybody has welcomed me so well and it already feels like family.

“I have a really good feeling from speaking to the head coach that this is the right place for me to find my best level.

“I know the stadium from watching games on television – it looks amazing and I know the atmosphere is crazy. I’m really excited to play and start scoring goals here.”

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe added: “We’re delighted to get Nick’s signing over the line so quickly. He fits the profile for exactly what we have been looking to add to our attacking options.

“He’s strong in a lot of areas – he has great technical ability and has proven himself to be a real threat in one of Europe’s top leagues – but he’s also still at an age where he has plenty of room to develop and grow here.

“Nick is a great character too and we’re really pleased to welcome him to the group.”

3

TRANSFER NEWS LIVE – KEEP UP WITH ALL THE LATEST FROM A BUSY SUMMER WINDOW

Woltemade, who has penned a contract until 2031, is not believed to have been registered in time to face Leeds today but could make his debut against Wolves in a fortnight.

The two-time capped German international was top scorer at this summer’s U21 Euros with six goals but suffered defeat in the final to England – who had new team-mate Tino Livramento in their line-up.

He makes the big-money move to the North East after just one season with Stuttgart, having joined them from Werder Bremen on a free transfer just 12 months ago.

He scored 17 goals in all competitions last term, including a crucial goal in the DFB-Pokal final – which Stuttgart went on to win.

Woltemade could watch Toon in action at Elland Road today before linking up with the Germany squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Slovakia and Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, we revealed Liverpool are expected to make a record bid for Isak in the coming days after club chiefs sanctioned a £130m bid for the 25-year-old.

Newcastle have already rejected one offer worth £110m and are refusing to sell unless they get a replacement 

Isak, who is refusing to play for Newcastle and training alone, reiterated his desire to leave this week to Toon’s Saudi chiefs.

Now he will be praying that Howe can get Wissa or Strand Larsen over the line to finally secure his departure.