Transfers 2020/21

Ahead of the 2020/21 season, the club have been active in the transfer window. Here are the latest arrivals and departures:
Our first arrival of the summer was the loan signing of Marius Wolf from Borussia Dortmund until the end of the season. The 25-year-old has the ability to play in numerous positions on the right-flank which is a useful tool, adding further depth to the squad. With the added fixtures that the UEFA Europa League brings, this is something which needed to be explored this season. Predominately a right-winger, Wolf will challenge Louis Schaub over the next twelve months or so to continue his strong performances in-order to retain his role in the squad on a regular basis.
Beginning his career with 1. FC Nürnberg, Wolf was unable to make a senior appearance and left to join 2. Bundesliga side 1860 Munich. After two seasons without any senior football, Wolf finally made his debut in the 2014/15 season, scoring twice in twenty-three appearances that season. After an initially strong start to the following campaign, Wolf attracted the attention of Hannover 96, who paid £1,200,000 for his services.
He made two appearances, before being sent out on loan to Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer. Despite making just three appearances over the course of the season, they opted to renew his loan the following season. Wolf went on to make a further twenty-eight appearances, scoring five times. As a result, the future fee option negotiated in the deal was activated and the winger joined for £450,000.
However, Borussia Dortmund were keen on bringing in the German star who had impressed during the 2018/19 season. They paid £4,500,000 to tempt Frankfurt to sell. Chances were fairly limited for Wolf in a star-studded team that lifted the title at the end of his debut campaign - making just twelve appearances, scoring three. Last season continued this trend, as he made just three appearances, resulting in his availability this summer.
Nico Schulz was next through the door, as we confirmed our second summer signing with his signature. The left-back signs from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim for £8,250,000 and will significantly bolster our options. Previously, Philipp Max had very little competition with Bruno Pittón not completely in his depth within the top-flight after joining whilst we were in the second-tier. However, Schulz's arrival will challenge Max - similarly to the arrival of Wolf - to continue to impress, else risk being dropped in-favour of the fourteen-time capped German U21 defender.
Schulz began his career with Hertha BSC, making his debut in 2010 after the club's relegation to 2. Bundesliga. He made twenty-one appearances as they won the title. However, Schulz was unable to make a single appearance as they were relegated back to the second-tier immediately after promotion. The German defender would make twenty appearances as they won the title once again, upon their return.
Hertha's return to the Bundesliga prompted Schulz's chance to impress, this time around. He would make twenty-three appearances as they avoided relegation and would make a further twenty-eight the following season. This attracted the attention of Borussia Mönchengladbach, who spent £2,900,000 to attain Schulz's services in the summer of 2015.
He spent two seasons with Gladbach before departing to join his previous employers, Hoffenheim, as he saw his minutes on the pitch drop significantly - recording just thirteen appearances across two years. Schulz would become a key-figure with his new side until last-campaign, where the emergence of Renan Lodi - who went on to join FC Porto this summer - resulted in Schulz being limited to just eleven appearances over the course of the season.
Denis Vavro joined from Danish Superliga champions FC København for £6,000,000. The Slovakian international - capped six times by his country - spent three seasons in Denmark. His arrival brings further quality and depth in the central area of defence, with both Svetozar Markovic and Dael Fry being important members in our success last season.
Vavro began his career in his native country of Slovakia with MŠK Žilina, making seventy-four appearance over a six-year stay before departing to join København. The 24-year-old made just under a century of appearances for the Danish side, as they celebrated back-to-back triumphs in the Danish Superliga.
Our fourth summer signing was Kevin Kampl from Paris Saint-Germain. Having been severely limited in opportunities in France, Kampl was keen to return to Germany, having played for Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig. His impact has already been noticed, having been integral to our Europa League qualification bid - scoring the decisive goal against Rangers and the first of two in a 2-0 victory against FK Oleksandriya.
His versatility in midfield will allow Kampl to be a useful asset to us over the course of his loan spell. He significantly improves our depth in all-areas.
Our third and final loanee was Danilo from Manchester City. The Brazilian has become a peripheral figure in Manchester and will act as an experienced backup to Sofiane Alakouch.
Impressing in Brazil for América Futebol Clube Minas Gerais and later Santos, Danilo secured a move into Europe with FC Porto in 2011 for £11,250,000. After four seasons in Portugal, his stock continued to rise after numerous impressive seasons - racking up ninety-one appearances for the Portuguese giants.
Danilo would trade Portugal for Spain in the summer of 2015, securing a dream-move to Real Madrid for £28,500,000. In his debut season, the twenty-three time capped international went on to make twenty-four appearances, winning the UEFA Champions League at the end of the season.
The following season, his minutes dropped slightly - making just seventeen appearances, but was part of the Madrid side that lifted the UEFA Champions League for a second consecutive year, as well as recording success in the UEFA Super Cup and winning La Liga.
Manchester City's attention was caught, paying the exact fee Madrid paid to bring Danilo to Spain. After making twenty-three appearances in his debut campaign, Danilo has been unable to make regular first-team appearances and has been limited to just twelve starts over the past two seasons - resulting in his availability for loan.
We made three separate signing from recently relegated VfL Wolfsburg, beginning with the capture of midfielder Yannick Gerhardt, who rejoined the club after departing in 2016. Gerhardt was sold for £10,000,000 that summer, but returns to the club for just a fraction of that price at £6,000,000, following Wolfsburg's relegation from the Bundesliga last season.
His arrival accompanies that of Kevin Kampl, with the pair added further quality into the midfield. Gerhardt is renowned for his physical ability and is the perfect box-to-box midfielder - a role which is used in our system, often.
Now twenty-six, Gerhardt made seventy-four appearances whilst at the RheinEnergieStadion before departing to join Wolfsburg. He made twenty-three appearances last season, but was helpless to prevent their inevitable relegation to the second-tier.
With numerous departures in our forward-line, in which will be discussed later, it was imperative that a suitable back-up striker was brought in. Therefore, our attention was drawn towards Wout Weghorst who completed a £4,000,000 to join us from Wolfsburg. The Dutchman, capped four times, brings a different dynamic to that offered by Denis Drăguș - with Weghorst acting as a big, physical presence who can hold the ball up and get on the end of chances.
Signing for FC Emmen in 2012 after an unsuccessful spell with Willem II, Weghorst registered eight goals in twenty-eight appearances during his debut season. The following season, he improved that total - scoring eleven, which secured him a move to the Eredivisie with Heracles Almelo.
During his debut season in the top-flight, he settled well and scored eighteen times in thirty-one appearances. In the 2015/16 season, Weghorst featured in all but one of Heracles' games, scoring twelve times. As a result of his impressive form, AZ Alkmaar paid £1,200,000 to sign the forward, who delivered in his two campaigns, scoring thirty-one goals in sixty appearances before joining Wolfsburg.
£9,500,000 was enough to tempt his previous employers to sell, with Weghorst scoring thirteen goals at the end of his first season in Germany. This tally fell to just three last season, but the 28-year-old's ability in-front of goal cannot be doubted.
The final arrival from Wolfsburg is 22-year-old Josip Brekalo, who penned a deal worth £8,500,000 to join the club this summer. Having gained plenty of experience, given his age, in the top-flight, the Croatian will be a useful asset this season - acting as competition for Francisco Trincão, who enjoyed a fantastic debut campaign in the Bundesliga last season.
Joining Wolfsburg in 2016 for £4,900,000 from GNK Dinamo, Brekalo made four Bundesliga appearances in his debut campaign at the age of eighteen. The following two campaigns were spent on-loan at VfB Stuttgart, in whom won promotion back to the Bundesliga in Brekalo's initial season at the club. He would make twenty-five appearances across his spell at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, fourteen of which came in the top-flight, scoring once.
Upon his return, the Croatian made thirteen appearances, before breaking-out in the 2018/19 season. Brekalo would make twenty-seven appearances, as Wolfsburg finished thirteenth in the Bundesliga - a marginal improvement on the sixteenth-placed finish they achieved the previous season. He scored three times last season as his side were relegated from the top-flight, appearing nineteen times.
With Thomas Kessler opting to leave the club, a number-two was needed in the event Timo Horn was unavailable. The experience of Thomas Kraft was brought in to replace Kessler from Hertha BSC, with a fee of £825,000 agreed between the two parties.
Kraft has made 282 appearances throughout his career, beginning with Bayern Munich. After impressing in the Bayern II side, Kraft was given the opportunity in the Bundesliga - making twelve appearances during the 2010/11 season, before departing to join the capital-based side.
Across his first four seasons with the club, Kraft was a constant presence in-between the sticks at the Olympiastadion. However, the arrival of Norwegian 'keeper Rune Jarstein in 2014 resulted in Kraft's minutes dropping significantly the following season, playing just six times throughout the 2015/16 season.
After a couple of seasons acting as Jarstein's understudy, his departure to Sky Bet Championship side Hull City allowed for Kraft to regain the number one jersey, to some effect. He recorded eleven and twenty appearances over the 2018/19 and 19/20 seasons, respectively, before the arrival of Josip Posavec from U.S. Città di Palermo resulted in the German opting to depart the club he gave nine years of service to.
The final arrival of the summer window was Nicolás Fernández from Defensor Sporting in Uruguay for £1,800,000. The eighteen-year-old arrives with great excitement, having scored eleven goals in twelve appearances at the age of seventeen in the Uruguayan Primera División last season.
Capped at U20 level, Fernández has been equally as prolific on the international stage as he has been in the Uruguayan top-flight, scoring seven times in eleven appearances. The deal was agreed at the start of July, but Fernández didn't officially complete his move until 27th August 2020, due to age restraints. He celebrated his eighteenth birthday on that date, allowing for the deal to finally be confirmed.
As a result of our recruitment, our summer spending reads at £35,500,000 - a significantly reduced fee compared to last summer's total figure, which read at £59,000,000.
There have been plenty of departures at the club this summer, as we prepare for the bonus of UEFA Europa League football.
As such, the following players have been loaned out until the end of the season: Niklas Hauptmann (Hannover 96), Tim Lamperie (KFC Uerdingen), Yann-Aurel Bisseck (SSV Jahn Regensburg), Dominik Becker (Wolfsburger AC), Noah Katterbach (ADO Den Haag), Sebastian Papalia (KFC Uerdingen), Tim Handwerker (SC Freiburg), Benno Schmitz (Hannover 96), Christian Clemens (1. FC Union Berlin), Kaan Caliskaner (VVV-Venlo).
There were also a handful of low-profile sales, with Nikolas Nartey (Lausanne-Sport and Gabriel Boakye (FC Edmonton) leaving on free transfers. Thomas Kessler departed after nineteen years of service, joining SV Darmstadt 98 for £83,000. Peter Pekarik left to return to his native Slovakia with MŠK Žilina for £275,000, whilst Matthias Bader joined Fortuna Düsseldorf for £500,000. Both of these players were surplus to requirements.
After joining the club in 2018, Bruno Pittón returned to Argentina with Club Atlético Colón for £1,100,000. The full-back made just three appearances last season as the club returned to the top-flight, after making thirty the previous season.
Simon Terodde left to join Russian Premiership side Akhmat Grozny for £1,000,000. The 32-year-old was a key-part to our title-winning season in 2019, scoring eleven times, but made just one appearance last season - struggling to compete with younger options within the squad.
With the arrival of Denis Vavro, Rafael Czichos was keen to leave the club in-search of regular first-team football. He joined Hannover 96 for £2,000,000, after enjoying a loan-spell in Hannover last season. He made fourteen appearances during that spell, impressing enough to earn a permanent move. An ever-present in our title-winning season, Rafael will be fondly remembered.
Marco Höger completed a permanent switch to 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Union Berlin for £2,600,000 after spending last season on-loan with Fortuna Düsseldorf. The 30-year-old has been unable to cement any regular minutes at the club since my arrival at the club.
After spending the entirety of last season with Bayer Leverkusen, where he was able to make six appearances, Johannes Geis has completed a £3,000,000 to VfL Wolfsburg, a club we have close contacts to given our dealings over the previous few months. With a wide-pool of options in the centre of midfield, Geis was unwilling to remain at the club, knowing his minutes on the pitch would be limited.
Unfortunately for Boubacar Kamara, our options at centre-back have meant he has had limited minutes to impress since joining from Olympique de Marseille in 2018. With the arrival of Denis Vavro, similarly to Rafael Czichos, Kamara has been moved on, in a deal which is in the best interests of both parties. He joins FC Schalke 04 for £4,500,000.
With the impressive performances of Denis Drăguș last season, Joel Pohjanpalo was unable to continue his goalscoring excellence from the previous season into the Bundesliga, making just thirteen appearances and scoring twice. Whilst the Finnish international was able to step-up in key moments, he has been moved on to allow for other striking options to be brought in. He joins Premier League side Cardiff City for £4,500,000, as they look to avoid relegation in their immediate return to the top-flight.
Serhou Guirassy completed a £3,300,000 move to Liga NOS side Vitória de Guimarães after spending last season with Raiffaisen Super League outfit FC Luzern. The Ivorian scored seven times in twenty-seven appearances for the Swiss side and brings an end to his average spell in Germany, in which he four times in twenty-one appearances, before beginning a run of loan moves in 2018.
The final departure of the summer is Jhon Córdoba, who joins SV Werder Bremen for £7,000,000. The 27-year-old Colombian was in dire-need of reviving his career after a number of disappointing seasons in-front of goal. He managed to score fourteen times last season for the Eredivisie side, as they finished fifth. Originally joining us in 2017 for £15,000,000 from 1. FSV Mainz 05, Córdoba failed to score in any of his eighteen appearances at the club.
The total fee received from our sales totals £29,500,000, with a net-spend of £6,000,000, as a result.
Replies
LFC: Bournemouth were on the brink of securing Champions League football with ten games or so to go, they were in the top-four for some time. I was quietly supporting them to go and do it! The group could definitely have been more difficult, but it's important we don't underestimate the opponents we have been given. Anybody could get a result, at the end of the day. A couple of poor results and it will be curtains!
Scouter: Two very capable sides, but we can't afford to overlook Jagiellonia either, despite their inexperience in the competition and lack of reputation.
Jack: Definitely and that's what Max will be wary of.