Bundesliga teams careful during the latest winter transfer window

Clubs of the German Bundesliga did business this winter dictated by the global financial crisis. A total of 33 incoming transfers and 42 departures, were registered.

German clubs spent only 58.4 million USD (or slightly more than 3 million USD per team) on new players, and earned a record low - only 10 million USD. Lars Windhorst and his Hertha once again overshadowed the biggest and richest. This time, the Old Lady of Berlin did not break out as in the previous two transfer windows (when they spent almost 180 million USD on newcomers), but that is why they hired one of the most famous names (Sami Khedira and Nemanja Radonjić), because they insisted on the clause in the contract of optional buy out. RB Leipzig (Dominik Szoboszlai) set aside the most money for one player and Schalke's drowning men turned to returning former players and veterans due to financial impotence. The club from Gelsenkirchen also agreed on the highest sales of all Bundesliga players. Although it is also a loan with the possibility, not the obligation to buy - it is the stopper Ozan Kabak, a new Liverpool player...

Bayern Munich + Borussia Dortmund = zero arrivals and zero money spent. But it cannot be said that the two most important and most popular German clubs disappointed, because they did not announce any big moves on their end. With the exception of the dissatisfaction of the fans of the Bavarian giant, who, after the departure of Thiago Alcantara last summer, lost another key component of their machinery that snatched all the trophies in 2020. It is, of course, David Alaba.

For a long time, Bayern's leaders tried to persuade Alaba's representatives to reduce their demands (Alaba's representatives allegedly wanted a higher salary for the Austrian than the one that Robert Lewandowski is getting), but today's best "universal soldier" received different advice, refused compromise solutions and in the end - everything fell apart. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Oliver Kahn withdrew from the negotiations, sending a clear message that no one is above the club. They were left without one of the best players, but they preserved the integrity of the great Bayern.

The European champion did not bring anyone this winter, but it is far from not working on some future jobs. Rummenigge admitted yesterday that Dayot Upamecano is the first target. The young Frenchman is recognized as the true heir of Alaba, and Bayern will do everything to take him for 50 million USD in the summer, which will be the amount of the exit clause when it is activated. Bayern will have fierce competition, Upamecano is wanted by several English clubs, even Real and Barcelona were mentioned, but only the Bavarians, as it can be heard unofficially, will guarantee him a place in the starting lineup. Because the departure of Jerome Boateng is in sight...

It is also certain that Bayern will not buy Douglas Costa, which is why speculations started a few days ago that the Germans launched a new attack after Callum Hudson-Odoi, and as Marc Roca did not satisfy, it is said his replacement will be Florian Neuhaus from Borussia Mönchengladbach. When it comes to departures - Chris Richards, a young defender, went on a six months adventure to Hoffenheim, while Joshua Zirkzee ended up in Parma. If he pleases, the Italians will be able to buy him out for 18 million USD.

It hasn't been this peaceful in Dortmund for a long time. No action this winter, just some hints for the summer business. Okay, there are those standard stories about the departures of Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho, but none of that fell into reality at any point. Especially not the one for Haaland, whose exit clause (it is said to be around 85 million USD) will be active only from the summer of 2022. Sancho's departure in six months is significantly more realistic, so in the previous days, names were listed as possible replacements. There was Tanguy Coulibaly from Stuttgart, then Sofiane Diop from Monaco, Donyell Malen from PSV Eindhoven, Jayden Braaf from Manchester City... It is worth mentioning that Borussia transferred Steffen Tigges from the second team to the first, a gigantic striker who has already started to get a chance as an alternative to Haaland.

As far as Hertha is concerned - it all started with Selke and Grujić three or four years ago. It continued with Cunha, Lukebakio, Piątek, Thoussard... John Cordoba was bought last summer. This winter, the shopping continued. Maybe not that much money was invested, but Hertha brought the world champion Sami Khedira and the Serbian winger Nemanja Radonjić. Khedira previously terminated his contract with Juventus, so the Berliners did not have to pay anything, while the former Red Star player arrived on a six-month loan, with a buyout option for 14.5 million USD. It will be interesting to see how the new (but temporary) coach Pal Dardai will work with the pieces of his puzzle. Khedira will take a place in the heart of the pitch and play in tandem with Matteo Guendouzi.

Hertha wanted more big names this winter. Papu Gomez and Julian Draxler were mentioned, there was talk and speculation that a request was sent to Dortmund for a loan deal for Julian Brandt (Millionaires refused), but in the end coach Labadia left, so it was decided to leave that plan for the summer, when a new, more permanent manager arrives.

Union Berlin had a great autumn. Urs Fischer tuned his orchestra that plays very well - team is built for little money and has no worries about survival. Therefore, the less known Berlin club was able to save this winter. When it comes to departures, there are none at the moment, but there will definitely be some in the summer. Christopher Lenz has already arranged a transfer to Eintracht Frankfurt as a free agent. And that probably won't be all - the Union guys brought a lot of attention from much richer clubs...

Werder Bremen did not bring anyone, Tahith Chong has been sent to Club Brugge on another loan from Man Utd, and the stories about Milot Rashica are most followed by Werder fans - whether he will leave or not. Werder eventually managed to keep him in high demand, he did not give up his intention to extract 30 milliion USD. That figure quickly discouraged Leipzig and Leverkusen and some other English clubs. Rashica has a contract until the summer of 2022, so it is certain that he will leave in a few months.

When it comes to Arminia from Bielefeld, only the arrival of midfielder Michel Vlap from Anderlecht (loan) is worth mentioning. The guy arrived in Brussels in 2019 for 8.4 million USD and did not live up to expectations. Maybe it could work for him in Bielefeld?

Mainz is in a very bad position. With the arrival of Bo Svensson to their bench, there is some progress, but again, survival is very far away. Especially after the departure of the best player and the first striker, Jean-Philippe Mateta. The Frenchman went to Crystal Palace, and an adequate replacement was not purchased. Robert Glatzel arrived on loan from Cardiff, but... Dominik Kohr and Danny da Costa from Eintracht Frankfurt also came. The impression is - nothing too interesting to liven up the team.

Schalke is at the bottom with only eight points and only a miracle can save him. It is obvious that Sead Kolašinac, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Škodran Mustafi and William also believe in that miracle. If you look at the names - serious signings, familiar to say the least, however, all together they have not had ten games in their clubs in the past six months. The big loss will be the departure of Ozan Kabak (Liverpool), which should be overlapped by Mustafi. Huntelaar came instead of the Vedad Ibisevic, while Kolasinac has already settled along the left out line, boxing out Bastian Oczipka from the team.

Ahmed Kutuçu (Heracles) and Rabbi Matondo (Stoke), two 20-year-olds who did not get much playing time, also left Gelsenkirchen last month. Schalke's biggest problem this winter was the bad financial situation. Bearing that in mind, that there was no money available for transfers, this transfer period did not go so badly. Now, will that be enough to survive in the top tier Bundesliga...?

Cologne made some progress in the attack, as until the last round it was the team with the fewest goals scored in the league. Anthony Modeste was sent on loan to Saint-Etienne, and was replaced by Emmanuel Dennis from Bruges (loan). The Nigerian was the starter in the first match upon arrival... The competition in Cologne's midfield should be intensified by the forgotten Max Meyer. He had previously terminated his contract with Crystal Palace.

We mentioned the departures of Da Costa and Kohr (Mainz), guys who didn't have serious minutes under Adi Hütter. Veteran David Abraham (Huracan) and Bas Dost (Bruges) also left Frankfurt. It was the departure of Dost that made room for the arrival of Luka Jović. Freddie Bobić's first idea was Joshua Zirkzee from Bayern, but when the opportunity arose to return Jović (even on loan), there was no dilemma. Eintracht made a great deal with Real. They paid only 1.2 million USD for the loan without the buyout option, while the Spaniards continue to pay 80 percent of the salary of the Serbian attacker. It is now up to Hutter to fit Andre Silva and Luka Jović together...

Freiburg had no arrivals this winter, only Luca Itter (Greuther Firth) and Amir Abrashi (Basel) left, and the situation is similar with Wolfsburg. No arrivals, departures of more or less unimportant players, unnoticed in the first part of the season. Yunus Mallı ended up in Trabzon, and the mentioned William in Schalke.

There was no action in Stuttgart this January. Augsburg strengthened the midfield, and quite well, as they brought a young Slovak of Hungarian origin, László Bénes from Monchengladbach (loan), and Hoffenheim got rid of some redundancies and invested a little in the future. João Klauss (Standard Liege) and Jacob Bruun Larsen (Anderlecht, loan) left Hoffenheim, while Chris Richards (Bayern, loan) and Georginio Rutter (Rennes) came. Richards can play as a stopper and on the side of the defensive line. Sebastian Hennes struggled with injuries of the defenders this fall and he will benefit from the addition of the roster when it comes to that part of the team, and the noise that the leaders of Rennes made after Rutter's departure shows that he is a very talented striker...

Bayer Leverkusen is struggling with right backs and this winter they bought two. Injuries for Lars Bender, Mitchell Weiser and Santiago Arias caused that. First came Timothy Fossu-Mensah from Manchester United and then Jeremie Frimpong from Celtic. The third signing is Demarai Gray (23) from Leicester. Paulinho was seriously injured, so all the burden, when it comes to the left back, fell on Moussa Diaby. The fact that Gray's contract expired at the end of the season affected the price. Lever got him for only 2.4 million USD. Bayer also tried to get in touch with Julian Draxler's representatives during January. In the end, there was none of that. The German national team player decided to stay in Paris until the summer, so that he can choose a new club as a free player in a few months.

It was said and written that Julian Nagelsmann wanted another striker. The plan was to try and bring Divock Origi from Liverpool or Kelechi Iheanacho from Leicester or Kasper Dolberg from Nice (all three were considered only for a loan), and in the end Leipzig stopped at Dominik Szoboszlai from the brotherly Salzburg. Many chased after the super-talented Hungarian (Milan was allegedly quite persistent), and the victory, many will say as expected, was taken by the German club and the first in importance in the Red Bull football family. Price acceptable - 24 million USD.

The Bulls from Leipzig also worked this winter to find a replacement for the outgoing Dayot Upamecano. And they seem to have won another great triumph. And again it was won against the Rossoneri who bargained too much. Mohamed Simakan is the one that battle was about, as the German and French media claim - he is going to Leipzig with a price tag of 18 million USD for the whole deal.

Borussia Monchengladbach, led by Max Eberl, is extremely careful about the balance on their account. The sale must cover the purchase - that is the basic motto of one of the best sports directors in Germany. Even the qualification to the elimination stages of the Champions League did not change Eberl's approach. There were no sales, there will be no big purchases. Offers for Plea and Thuram were rejected, the transfer of Denis Zakaria was slowed down by a serious injury, while Neuhaus is still only under the radar of Bayern... They have set aside a lot of money for the 18-year-old midfielder of Toulouse, Kouadio Koné (11 million USD), but he will arrive in Germany in the summer and will be paid in several installments. Also, coming from New York is teenager Joe Scully, a right back.

TOP 10 ARRIVALS

1. Dominik Szoboszlai (RB Salzburg – RB Leipzig, 24 million USD)

2. Luka Jović (Real Madrid – Eintracht, loan)

3. Sami Khedira (free/Juventus - Hertha)

4. Nemanja Radonjić (Olympique Marseille – Hertha, loan , buyout option 14.4 million USD)

5. Jeremie Frimpong (Celtic – Bayer Leverkusen, 13.2 million USD)

6. Demarai Grey (Leicester – Bayer Leverkusen, 2.4 million USD)

7. Kouadio Koné (Toulouse – Borussia M'gladbah, 10.8 million USD)

8. Sead Kolašinac (Arsenal – Schalke, loan)

9. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (free/Ajax - Schalke)

9. Skodran Mustafi (free/Arsenal – Schalke)

10. Max Meyer (free/Cristal Palace - Cologne)

TOP 10 DEPARTURES

1. Ozan Kabak (Schalke – Liverpool, loan, buyout option 36 million USD)

2. Jean-Phillipe Mateta (Mainz – Crystal Palace, loan, buyout option 18 million USD)

3. Joshua Zirkzee (Bayern – Parma, loan, buyout option 18 million USD)

4. Bas Dost (Eintracht – Club Brigge, 4.8 million USD)

5. Jakob Bruun Larsen (Hoffenheim – Anderlecht, loan)

6. Rabbi Matondo (Schalke – Stoke, loan)

7. Yunus Malli (Wolfsburg – Trabzon, loan)

8. Aaron Martin (Mainz – Celta, loan)

9. Ahmed Kutucu (Schalke – Heracles, loan)

10. David Abraham (free/Eintracht – Huracan)

***Transfers are not ranked according to the amount of compensation