January transfer window: Stuttgart make club-record signing
January 17
Teenager central defender Ozan Kabak (18) has signed for Stuttgart for a reported club record fee of €11.5 million ($11.5 million). Kabak joins from Galatasaray has signed a deal until 2024 and arrives in Stuttgart with Champions League and international experience having played four games in Europe’s top club competition and 11 for his country, Turkey.
January 13
Borussia Dortmund have completed their first signing of the January transfer window with Argentine youngster Leonardo Balerdi swapping Boca Juniors for BVB. The 19-year-old centre-back, also coveted by Barcelona, arrived in Dortmund on Monday and, after completing the precursory medical check, has signed a “long-term deal” according to the club.
“The signing of Leonardo Balerdi is a transfer with the long-term in mind that was due to be completed this coming summer, but has been brought forward. Leonardo is an intelligent centre-back who’s good in the tackle and in the air. We’re delighted he’s signed for us and are convinced that he’ll be able to use his talent to help us in the future,” said sporting director Michael Zorc.
Balerdi is due to miss the start of the second half of the season to represent his national team in qualifying for the Under-20 World Cup in Poland this summer.
January 12
Second division side Köln have splashed the cash to sign a new holding midfielder and have pulled off a real coup with the signing of Johannes Geis from Schalke. The former Germany U-21 international boasts a wealth of top-flight experience and is hoping to breathe new life into his career after struggling to establish himself in Gelsenkirchen.
“The goal for the rest of the season is clear: we want to get promoted. I have real desire to make this happen and play my part in achieving our goal.”
January 12
Fortuna Düsseldorf have bolstered their options between the sticks with the signing of Jaroslav Drobny from Werder Bremen. The shot-stopper, who has 200 Bundesliga appearances to his name, is yet to feature in 2018/19 and has joined on a six-month deal until the end of the season.
January 10
Another day, another Bayern Munich rumor. After the Benjamin Pavard signing, and with rumors continuing to swirl about Callum Hudson-Odoi, reports in Germany and elsewhere are suggesting that Bayern are looking to hijack Barcelona’s deal to sign PSG midfielder Adrien Rabiot on a free.
The German champions are said to be keen on the playmaker and willing to stump up in January in an attempt to beat the Spanish side to Rabiot’s signature.
January 10
Amid the noise surrounding Benjamin Pavard’s future move, Stuttgart tied up a deal for a familiar Bundesliga face. Swiss international Steven Zuber has joined the struggling Swabians on a loan deal that runs until the end of the current campaign.
The wide player has fallen out of favor at Hoffenheim of late after 82 league appearances for the club and welcomed the chance to move on.
“I had good conversations with head coach Markus Weinzierl and the leading figures at the club. From the very first second they convinced me about making the move to VfB Stuttgart,” Zuber said.
“Our aim is to stay in the Bundesliga – we want to achieve that as quickly as possible. I want to play my part in celebrating as many wins as possible with the brilliant fans in the second half of the season.”
January 9
“This is a young player who is a world champion, we are very happy and proud”, Bayern’s sporting director, Hassan Salihamidzic told reporters following the announcement on Wednesday. Benjamin Pavard is to join Bayern from Stuttgart on July 1st 2019 after his €35-million ($40 million) release clause was activated.
Bayern have long been admirers of the 22-year old defender, whose stellar performances throughout last season earned him a call up to the French squad in the lead up to the 2018 World Cup. He played an integral role in France’s successful campaign in Russia, playing every minute of the knockout stages, including the 4-2 win over Croatia in the final. He also won goal of the tournament for a sensational strike against Argentina in the last 16.
Despite Stuttgart’s defensive shortcomings this season – they share the Bundesliga’s second poorest record for goals conceded – Pavard is widely regarded as one of the best young defender’s in Germany and the transfer is sure to be seen as a coup for the club as they look to refurbish an aging squad. His versatility will also have been appealing. Pavard plays centrally for his club but full back with the national side.
Pavard joined Stuttgart, then in the second division, from Lille in 2016 for around €5 million He played 21 games in Stuttgart’s promotion-winning campaign, before cementing his place in the side over the past two seasons in the Bundesliga. He has played 48 Bundesliga games for the club, scoring once.
January 4
Former Chelsea star Gianfranco Zola, now assistant to coach Maurizio Sarri, has urged highly-regarded young English forward Callum Hudson-Odoi he’d be better staying with the Premier League club, after Bayern Munich reportedly bid €33 million for the 18-year-old.
The England youth international’s contract expires in 2020 and Zola is keen to keep one of England’s brightest prospects.
“I know Bayern is very interested in him but we’re interested in him, as well,” said Zola. We’ve proposed with him a contract for quite a while so we’re waiting to see what he thinks about that.
I’ve already told him: ‘It’s not a waste of time. It’s a time in which you can really get better because you are pushed to do more.’ “I hope Callum is using this time in a wise way and hopefully he’ll sign a contract with us.”
Hudson-Odoi has made a handful of appearances for Chelsea but is likely to move down a slot when Christian Pulisic arrives from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.
January 3
Former Borussia Dortmund winger Jakub Blaszczykowski has been allowed to leave Wolfsburg on a free transfer and is now searching for a new club in his native Poland. The 33-year-old made 235 Bundesliga appearances and won the league twice with Dortmund in an eight year spell. But after failing to make an appearance for the Wolves this season, club and player decided to end the relationship.
January 3
Naldo’s 13 year stint in the Bundesliga is at an end after the 36-year-old Brazilian center back agreed to join Ligue Un outfit Monaco, signing a contract until the summer of 2020 after falling down the pecking order under Domineco Tedesco this season.
The former Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg man enjoyed something of an Indian summer last term as Schalke finished second, with a dramatic last gasp equalizer in the 4-4 Ruhr Derby against Werder Bremen a particular highlight.
“My two and a half years at Schalke had many big moments, there will always be the best memories,” Naldo said.
He faces a tough task in the prinicipality, with Thierry Henry’s side second from bottom of Ligue Un and struggling to cope with the deaprture of a number of key players over the last few years.
January 2
– Borussia Dortmund announced in a statement on Wednesday that they had reached a deal to sell Christian Pulisic to Chelsea for a transfer fee of €64 million ($73 million). As part of the deal he has been loaned back to Dortmund for the remainder of this season.
“It was always Christian’s big dream to play in the Premier League. That definitely has to do with his American up bringing, and as a result it wasn’t possible for us to extend his contract,” Dortmund’s sporting director, Michael Zorc, said. “In view of this, and the short time remaining on his contract, to accept an extraordinary, lucrative offer from Chelsea.”
Pulisic’s contract with Dortmund had been due to expire at the end of the 2019/20 campaign.
January 1
– Nicolai Müller has joined second-from the bottom Hannover on loan until the end of the season. The 31-year-old winger, had been struggling to get playing minutes since moving to Eintracht Frankfurt from Hamburg in the summer.
December 30
– Alex Meier has reportedly found a new club. According to BILD, the 35-year-old striker will return second division side St. Pauli, the club where he started his professional career. The 2014-15 Bundesliga top scorer has suffered from a series of injuries over the years, and Eintracht Frankfurt chose not to prolong his contract after it expired at the end of last season.
December 27
– Sebastian Rode is an Eagle again. Eintracht Frankfurt announced this Tuesday that the 28-year-old midfielder would return to the club on loan from Borussia Dortmund until the end of the current season. In his previous spell in Frankfurt, between 2010 and 2014, Rode made 108 appearances in all competitions, scoring five goals
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/january-transfer-window-stuttgart-make-club-record-signing/a-46899974