Newcastle had Woltemade-plus-cash offer for Felix Nmecha rejected by Dortmund

Newcastle United attempted an ambitious player-plus-cash deal for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Felix Nmecha before the transfer deadline, with Nick Woltemade offered as part of the proposal.

According to SportBILD, Newcastle made a “concrete inquiry” for the 25-year-old as Matthias Jaissle looked to rebuild his midfield following the departures of Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali.

Dortmund's valuation had previously made a conventional transfer difficult, so Newcastle explored an alternative structure involving Woltemade plus a significant cash payment. The Bundesliga club, however, had no interest in allowing Nmecha to leave.

Newcastle's interest in Nmecha had been established before Deadline Day, but Dortmund's enormous asking price represented a major obstacle.

Previous reports suggested the German club wanted as much as €120million, while SportBILD now indicates their demands remained above €100m.

Newcastle attempted to reduce the cash element by including Woltemade.

The Magpies were prepared to send the striker to Dortmund while simultaneously paying a multi-million-euro sum to secure Nmecha.

It was a significant proposal but failed to change Dortmund's position.

Dortmund's hierarchy quickly agreed that Nmecha would not be sold.

The Germany international is considered a fundamental part of their midfield, and the club's improved financial position meant there was no pressure to cash in despite Premier League interest.

That represented a significant change from previous windows when Dortmund had been more reliant on generating substantial transfer income.

Newcastle's proposal was therefore rejected without the negotiations developing into an agreement.

There was another obstacle even before that stage. Previous reports had suggested Newcastle would also have needed to convince Nmecha himself about a move to St James' Park.

With Dortmund unwilling to negotiate, that ultimately became irrelevant.

Missing out on Nmecha forced Newcastle to pursue their midfield rebuild elsewhere.

Jaissle ultimately strengthened the position with Nico Gonzalez, Aladji Bamba and Sean Steur, providing several new options following the departures of Guimaraes and Tonali.

Gonzalez in particular arrived as a major addition and is expected to play an important role in Newcastle's new-look midfield.

Woltemade's future was also resolved separately.

After being offered as part of the unsuccessful Nmecha proposal, the striker eventually joined Juventus on loan for the season.

The details underline how seriously Newcastle considered Nmecha before ultimately deciding their resources were better directed elsewhere once Dortmund refused to compromise.

Nmecha will remain an important part of Dortmund's plans after the Bundesliga club demonstrated it was under no financial pressure to sanction a sale.

For Newcastle, attention now turns to integrating their alternative midfield additions. Whether their interest in Nmecha is revived in a future window could depend on his situation at Dortmund and whether the German club eventually becomes more receptive to a major offer.