Eddie Howe hits back at 'irrelevant' Bayern Munich chief's brutal Nick Woltemade remarks after he mocked Newcastle's decision to splash out £69m on Alexander Isak replacement

Eddie Howe has hit back at Karl-Heinze Rummenigge and says his comments about Newcastle being 'fools' for paying £69million for Nick Woltemade are 'irrelevant'.

The Bayern Munich board advisor has sought to mock the Magpies for the club-record fee they agreed with Stuttgart in August. Bayern had been in talks with their Bundesliga rivals but their offers did not go beyond £53m.

Rummenigge said: 'I can only congratulate the people in Stuttgart for finding – let me use quotation marks here – 'a fool' who paid that much money, because we certainly wouldn't have done that in Munich.'

Woltemade has scored two from three starts for Newcastle and, speaking from Brussels ahead of Wednesday's Champions League match with Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise, Howe defended his club-record buy.

'I always think with these types of things, it's irrelevant really,' he said when asked about Rummenigge. 'Market forces dictate transfer fees, not necessarily any one club. We're very pleased to have Nick with us.

'I think he's started very strongly in what has been a difficult period for him. It's frustrating for him to have had no training time with us of any note. I think he's done really, really well. We're really pleased to have him with us, and the transfer fee, for me, is absolutely irrelevant.'

Despite being 6ft 6ins tall, Woltemade arrived with a reputation for being better with his feet. However, both of his goals have been scored via headers.

'It's great to see him score with his head,' said Howe. 'As I said when we signed him, we know he's a big player. That has to be a source of goals for him, with the height that he brings. It's something we felt we could really improve. The two headers were his own work, and he deserves the praise for them because they're two outstanding moments.

'Once the team services him and gives him better balls in and around the box, there are other ways he can score as well. But that's definitely a promising start.'

Would Woltemade be affected by his price tag and the debate around it?

'He's not that type of character,' said Howe. 'I don't think he necessarily overthinks too much, which is a really big strength. Whatever we have paid for him is irrelevant. What he is going to be judged on is how he performs in the team and what he gives to the club going forward.

'I would urge any footballer to try and dust that off, but it's easier said than done. I've seen players be weighed down by either the fee or the expectation but he's very relaxed. He looks like he's enjoying his football, enjoying being here, and ultimately that is the key.'