Malick Thiaw and Nick Woltemade were in the spotlight during Newcastle’s 4-1 win at Everton FC. A meeting with Merlin Röhl was canceled due to surgery. Despite injury problems, the former Freiburg player feels he has settled in well with the Toffees.
Two Germans made their mark on Saturday evening’s Premier League match between Everton FC and Newcastle United. Malick Thiaw and Nick Woltemade scored three goals in the Magpies’ 4-1 win at the Liverpool club and gave a humorous double interview afterwards.
Given the result, Merlin Röhl was certainly not in the best of moods. However, he would probably have been in a slightly better mood had Everton’s midfielder been able to face his compatriots on the pitch, including a teammate from their days together at the DFB.
At the beginning of the summer, the German U21 team had reached the final of the European Championship. This was mainly thanks to their top scorer Woltemade and Röhl, who started the tournament injured but scored the winning goal in extra time in the quarterfinal against Italy. In the final, the DFB team narrowly missed out on another junior title against England.
Röhl and Woltemade have played a total of eleven games together for the DFB U21 team. In late summer, the former Freiburg player followed the former Stuttgart player to England at the last minute. The surprise deal was only finalized on deadline day. The Toffees, who had already shown interest in Röhl, initially transferred a loan fee of two million euros to the Sport-Club. Next summer, the total transfer fee could rise to around €25 million if the club remains in the Premier League.
Röhl forced to take a break for the second time
Not a huge sum by English standards, but not a small one either. Coach David Moyes’ club has high hopes for the talented German midfielder, who has yet to consistently show his full potential over a longer period of time, partly due to several injury breaks.
Röhl, who scored three goals and provided two assists in 13 appearances for the German U21 team, has already had some impressive highlights, such as his solo goal across half the pitch in Leipzig in November 2023. When he left Freiburg on September 1, 2025, after scoring three goals and providing six assists in 60 competitive appearances in three years, he was still a promising prospect for the future rather than an established pillar of the team. After his first appearance as a substitute in mid-September in a 0-0 draw with Aston Villa, the Berlin-born player, who grew up in Potsdam, had to sit out four games due to a hip muscle injury. Röhl then gritted his teeth for another four weeks and Moyes brought him back as one of the first substitutes in three of four league games.
This was a nerve-wracking situation. It is not an uncommon injury among professional soccer players. With the international break in November approaching, the player and the club decided on a surgical procedure that has become common in such cases.
Röhl is now back in running training—and eager to make his comeback.
Röhl underwent surgery with a specialist in Munich and will be out for “a few weeks,” as Moyes recently stated. The Everton coach said Röhl could return in December. However, the downtime for such an injury varies from case to case and could be up to three months in the worst-case scenario.
However, Röhl is currently already running on the pitch and, despite all due caution in the return process, is eager to finally get started for Everton in the Premier League. Despite the injury problems at the start, Röhl already feels very comfortable and at home in his new, unfamiliar surroundings, according to the clear message from those around him.
In keeping with his new challenge far from home, Röhl now sports a short hairstyle, having previously had shoulder-length hair. Now all that remains is for his body to give the green light. Then we can look forward to seeing how well Röhl performs in the best, but probably also the toughest, league in the world. He should be ready by the time the return match takes place in Newcastle on February 28. Then he can help ensure that he has something to smile about after his next reunion with Woltemade and Thiaw. And, in the best-case scenario, he will be a sought-after interview partner himself.
