Bundesliga - January transfer window recap: Bayern + Borussia + Leipzig: 0 Ksh spent

January transfer window came and ended, but for the Germans, it seems it never existed. Bundesliga clubs have done minimal work in the last month, and apart from a few transfers here and there, it was quite like a cemetary. Speaking through the numbers, the total amount of money spent in total this January (loans not included) is 8 billion Ksh, a little less than only Everton spent in England, and we are not counting 14 billion spent by Newcastle alone. And what about the three richest clubs in Bundesliga? Bayern, Borussia Dortmund and Leipzig spent exactly 0 Ksh combined!

Sat 20:30: (1.48) Bayern (4.60) RB Leipzig (7.50)

So, who had to give money then? Only clubs in need. Like Wolfsburg for example. They are experiencing a terrible season so far, and on top of that, they lost their best scorer  Wout Weghorst, who signed for Burnley, so they were forced to buy two players: Max Kruse from Union Berlin and Jonas Wind from Copenhagen. They have also signed Jakub Kaminski from Lech Poznan, who will join the club in June 2022, and for that three players they have paid around 4 billion, a half amount of the total money spent in the league.

Top 10 incoming transfers in Bundesliga – January 2022

1. Ricardo Pepi - Augsburg - €16.36m

2. Jonas Wind - Wolfsburg €12.00m

3. Jakub Kaminski Wolfsburg €10.00m

4.  Kevin Paredes Wolfsburg €6.68m

5. Marvin Friedrich  Borussia Mönchengladbach   €5.50m

6. Max Kruse  Wolfsburg €5.00m

7. Hugo Siquet Freiburg €4.50m

8. Sardar Azmoun Leverkusen €4.00m

9. Sven Michel Union Berlin €2.50m

10. Andras Schafer Union Berlin €1.00m

Bayern Munich

The Bavarians didn’t do any deals this January. Instead, they were working hard behind the scenes to extend their key players and they managed to do it for Kimmich, Goretzka and Koman, while Neuer’s new deal is in the works, along with Muller’s and Gnabry’s. Tolisso was one of the players destined to leave in June, but he came into the starting 11 after Goretzka got injured and impressed, so now, he is also looking for a new deal. If Bayern manages to pull all that, they will only need one more name to renew in June – Robert Lewandowski. The Bavarians will force him to decide if he wants to continue or it’s time to say goodbye, and look for another striker.

Bayern will surely look for a new center-back, since Niklas Sule refused the last offer to a new contract. Bundesliga champions have three players in mind as a replacement, and they will all be free agents in June, just like Sule: Andreas Christensen, Antonio Ruddiger (both Chelsea) and Mathias Gunter (Borussia M.). Nobody will get more than 1.2 billion Ksh per year, as that was the price which was offered to Sule, and maybe the price will be a key which one of them will sign for Bayern.

Borussia Dortmund

Erling Haaland. Everything is revolving around him in Dortmund. The club is forcing the Norwegian to tell them will he stay for another year (with the improved contract) or leave in June, so they can plan ahead and get their number 1 target - Karem Adeyemi from Salzburg. But, apart from Haaland’s potential successor, Borussia needs to address a leaky defense, which they failed to do in this transfer window (and it’s not easy to understand why).

Leipzig

Definitely a club which lives from player’s sale, but in time it seems that their players are more and more expensive, and they also like to bargain, so it’s not so easy to buy players from Leipzig. The German club is basically selling their players to top clubs for big cash (Liverpool – Konate, Bayern – Upamecano), and none of those clubs didn’t want to spend big in January. So, it was all quiet in Leipzig during this transfer window. But, they will earn their millions in June, when offers from Haidara and Nkunku arrive.

The rest of the league

As we mentioned before, Wolfsburg spent the half of the total amount spent in Bundesliga this transfer window. But, the relegation candidates Augsburg basically bought the most expensive player in Germany this winter: Ricardo Pepi. Former Dallas striker signed at the beginning of the transfer window and became the most expensive American MLS player to sign for a European club, the most expensive transfer by Augsburg, and the second most expensive player to transfer from MLS to a European league.

Sun 17:30: (2.00) Dortmund (3.70) Leverkusen (3.90)

Borussia Monchengladbach is the looser, as they lost sporting director Max Eberl, one of the best in business, but also Mathias Gunter and Dennis Zakaria didn’t want to renew their contracts and Gunter will leave in the summer as a free agent, while they managed to sell Zakaria for a minimal sum to Juventus. They brought in Marvin Friedrich from Union Berlin as Gunter’s replacement, but their biggest problems will arrive in June: 9 players will have contract which expire in 2023, and they will need to renew them all, unless they sell some of them. Oh, and they are only 3 points above the relegation zone. Union Berlin continued to make shrewd moves in the transfer market as they sold Max Kruse (33) to Wolfsburg but brought in one of the most prolific strikes in the second league Sven Michel for half the price.

Another American talent arrives to Bundesliga

Arminia Bielefeld

In: George Bello (Atlanta United), Gonzalo Castro (free agent), Burak Ince (Altinordu FK)

Out: Lennart Czyborra (Genoa, loan return)

Augsburg

In: Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas)

Out: -

Bayer Leverkusen

In: Sardar Azmoun (Zenit St Petersburg), Lennart Grill (Brann, end of loan)

Out: Nadiem Amiri (Genoa, loan), Panagiotis Retsos (Hellas Verona)

Bayern Munich

In: Adrian Fein (Greuther Fürth, end of loan), Liu Shaoziyang (Wuhan Three Towns FC)

Out: Bright Arrey-Mbi (Cologne, loan), Oliver Batista Meier (Dynamo Dresden), Michael Cuisance (Venezia FC), Adrian Fein (Dynamo Dresden, loan)

Bochum

In: Jürgen Locadia (Brighton & Hove Albion)

Out: Silvere Ganvoula (Cercle Brugge, loan), Soma Novothny (Anorthosis Famagusta)

Borussia Dortmund

In: Filippo Mane (Sampdoria, signed to U19s)

Out: Ansgar Knauff (Eintracht Frankfurt, loan), Tobias Raschl (Greuther Fürth)

Borussia Mönchengladbach

In: Marvin Friedrich (Union Berlin)

Out: Torben Müsel (KAS Eupen, loan), Hannes Wolf (Swansea City, loan), Denis Zakaria (Juventus)

Cologne

In: Bright Arrey-Mbi (Bayern Munich, loan), Jeff Chabot (Sampdoria, loan), Jeremy Mekoma (FC Karbach, summer 2022), Robert Voloder (Maribor, end of loan)

Out: Jens Castrop (Nuremberg, loan), Sava-Arangel Cestic (Rijeka), Rafael Czichos (Chicago Fire), Noah Katterbach (Basel, loan), Jorge Mere (Club America), Robert Voloder (Maribor)

Eintracht Frankfurt

In: Ansgar Knauff (Borussia Dortmund, loan)

Out: Fabio Blanco (Barcelona), Amin Younes (Napoli, loan ended)

Freiburg

In: Hugo Siquet (Standard Liege)

Out: Dominique Heintz (Union Berlin)

 Greuther Fürth

In: Andreas Linde (Molde), Afimico Pululu (Basel), Tobias Raschl (Borussia Dortmund)

Out: Emil Berggreen (contract terminated), Adrian Fein (Bayern Munich, end of loan), Justin Hoogma (Hoffenheim, end of loan), Cedric Itten (Rangers, end of loan), Hans Nunoo Sarpei (Ingolstadt), Nils Seufert (Sandhausen, loan)

Hertha Berlin

In: Fredrik Andre Bjorkan (Bodo/Glimt), Marc Oliver Kempf (VfB Stuttgart), Lee Dong-jun (Ulsan Hyundai), Kelian Nsona (Caen)

Out: Dennis Jastrzembski (Slask Wroclaw), Krzysztof Piatek (Fiorentina, loan), Jordan Torunarigha (Gent, loan), Deyovaisio Zeefuik (Blackburn Rovers, loan)

Greatness recognizes greatness: Haaland has no doubt who's the best in the world

Hoffenheim

In: Fin Ole Becker (St. Pauli, July 2022), Justin Che (FC Dallas, loan), Justin Hoogma (Greuther Fürth, end of loan), Joao Klauss (Standard Liege, end of loan), Bruno Nazario (America Mineiro, end of loan), Lucas Ribeiro (Internacional, end of loan)

Out: Sargis Adamyan (Club Brugge), Melayro Bogarde (Groningen, loan), Joshua Brenet (FC Twente), Mijat Gacinovic (Panathinaikos, loan), Justin Hoogma (Heracles), Joao Klauss (Sint-Triuden, loan), Bruno Nazario (Vasco da Gama), Lucas Ribeiro (Ceara, loan)

Mainz

In: Delano Burgzorg (Heracles, loan), Anthony Caci (Racing Strasbourg, July 2022), Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace, end of loan)

Out: Marius Liesegang (Dynamo Dresden), Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace, loan made permanent)

RB Leipzig

In: Luan Candido (Red Bull Bragantino, end of loan), Fabrice Hartmann (Paderborn, end of loan)

Out: Brian Brobbey (Ajax, loan), Luan Candido (Red Bull Bragantino), Fabrice Hartmann (Eintracht Braunschweig, loan), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers, loan made permanent), Ilaix Moriba (Valencia, loan), Marcelo Saracchi (contract terminated), Joscha Wosz (Hallescher FC, loan)

Union Berlin

In: Dominique Heintz (Freiburg), Sven Michel (Paderborn), Andras Schäfer (Dunajska Streda)

Out: Marvin Friedrich (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Max Kruse (Wolfsburg), Tymoteusz Puchacz (Trabzonspor, loan), Fabio Schneider (Kuopion Palloseura, loan), Cedric Teuchert (Hannover), Rick van Drongelen (KV Mechelen, loan), Pawel Wszolek (Legia Warsaw, loan)

VfB Stuttgart

In: Tiago Tomás (Sporting CP, loan)

Out: Hamadi Al-Ghaddioui (Pafos FC), Momo Cisse (Wisla Krakow, loan), Marc Oliver Kempf (Hertha Berlin) Philipp Klement (Paderborn, loan), Alou Kuol (Sandhausen, loan), Matej Maglica (St. Gallen, loan)

 Wolfsburg

In: Jakub Kaminski (Lech Poznan, summer 2022), Max Kruse (Union Berlin), Kevin Paredes (DC United), Jonas Wind (Copenhagen)

Out: Daniel Ginczek (Fortuna Düsseldorf), Josuha Guilavogui (Bordeaux), Bryang Kayo (Nuremberg, loan), Jannis Lang (Erzgebirge Aue), Admir Mehmedi (Antalyaspor), Marvin Stefaniak (Würzburger Kickers), Wout Weghorst (Burnley)