Hidden Gems FC: Nick Woltemade, Stuttgart's 'two-metre Messi' being linked with a lucrative summer transfer to Atletico Madrid or Bayern Munich

Woltemade was born in Bremen on February 14, 2003, a Valentine's Day baby who discovered his love for football at an early age. He had a gift for the game, too, and was still only seven when he was signed by Werder Bremen from local amateur outfit TS Woltmerhausen.

Woltemade progressed rapidly through his hometown club's youth sector and first caught the eye of senior team coach Florian Kohfeldt during the 2018-19 campaign by scoring 18 goals and creating a further eight for the Under-17s.

The striker continued to score freely the following season after being promoted to the U19s, and, on February 1, 2020, Woltemade became the youngest debutant in Bremen's history when he came off the bench in a Bundesliga clash with Augsburg at 17 years, 11 months and 18 days old.

At the time, Woltemade looked destined to become a star at the Weserstadion, but it wasn't to be.

After being laid low by illness in January 2021, the teenager was then sidelined by knee ligament damage, while at same time plagued by a persistent foot problem. The net result was Woltemade failing to lock down a regular spot in the Bremen squad, sparking fears that he might never realise his full potential.

Those fears only intensified after he was loaned to third-tier outfit SV Elversberg in the summer of 2022, but the move proved a pivotal moment in the youngster's career. Woltemade found some form and, far more importantly, some fitness at the UrsapharmArena, as he was directly involved in 19 goals (10 of which he scored himself) as Elversberg secured promotion to the 2. Bundesliga as champions.

Woltemade still struggled to replicate those impressive numbers upon his return to Bremen and he parted company with his hometown club when his contract expired at the end of the 2023-24 season. However, the successful stint at Elversberg played a pivotal role in Stuttgart's decision to take a punt on Woltemade - which has paid off spectacularly.

Unsurprisingly, the free transfer from Bremen who wasn't even registered to play in the Champions League began the season on the Stuttgart bench - and that's where he spent all 90 minutes of five of his new team's first nine Bundesliga outings.

However, Woltemade was all the while impressing in the DFB-Pokal, and when he netted twice as a half-time substitute in the Bundesliga win over Union Berlin on December 6, he began to start regularly for Stuttgart.

The centre-forward went on to net 12 times in 28 appearances in Germany's top flight - including in each of the final three games of the season. Even more significantly, Woltemade also finished as top-scorer in the DFB-Pokal, with five goals in five outings, including the opener in the 4-2 victory over Arminia Bielefeld in the final.

Finishing the season with such a flourish also resulted in him being called up by Germany for the first time, for this week's Nations League finals. Woltemade is also expected to star for his country's U21s at this summer's European Championship - particularly after netting a perfect hat-trick in a 3-1 win over their Spanish counterparts in a friendly in March.

It was obvious to Stuttgart captain Karazor that the club had pulled off a masterstroke in landing Woltemade on a free, given it was clear to him from the start that his rare mix of height and technique was going to make him a nightmare for opponents.

"I think I recognise a good footballer quickly and Nick caught my eye from the first week of training," the Turkish midfielder told ran. "The most important thing for us is to involve Woltemade enough in the game but he can do that as a deep-lying striker between the lines or as a true No.9 in the opponent's box. Because we know what we have in Nick: he's a two-metre-tall (Jamal) Musiala or Messi!"

As well as being a formidable attacking threat and a tremendous outlet that relieves pressure on his team by holding the ball up well, Woltemade also works incredibly hard to help his team-mates win it back. The common consensus is that he needs to improve his finishing a tad, in order to boost his numbers. However, now that he's fully fit and firing, it's believed that his strike-rate is only going to improve in the coming years, particularly if he joins an even stronger side.

The ability is certainly there, anyway, as he so wonderfully underlined with his stunning solo strike against Spain's U21s, with Woltemade dinking the ball over the goalkeeper after the cheekiest of nutmegs on his closest marker...

Woltemade's remarkable rise to prominence in Germany has inevitably attracted the attention of Bayern Munich, who are obviously looking for a long-term successor to Harry Kane. However, according to BILD, Premier League duo Brighton and Everton are also interested. In Spain, though, Mundo Deportivo is claiming that Atletico Madrid are now leading the race for the 23-year-old attacker.

Unsurprisingly, Stuttgart are desperate to hold onto Woltemade - for at least another year. "Nick is our player and he will also play for us next season," club president Alexander Wehrle told RTL/ntv and sport.de at the end of May. "He has been here for one season and I think he should be given the opportunity to play a few more seasons at VfB. Because it's fun to play here."

After years of bitter frustration in Bremen, Woltemade has certainly enjoyed himself since arriving in Stuttgart last summer, and with a World Cup on the horizon, staying put would probably be the smart play right now.

It's clear, though, that he won't be short on offers. After all, who wouldn't want a two-metre Messi in attack?!