The long quiet winter transfer window has ended with headlines. Unlike usual, it was not the relegation candidates who got into trouble that caused the greatest hustle and bustle, but the two top clubs from Munich and Berlin. League leaders FC Bayern loaned Portuguese international defender João Cancelo from Manchester City in Tuesday’s sale. Chaser 1. FC Union provided the most topics of conversation due to the failed negotiation with the free Spanish star Isco in the end.
At the latest after the media reports about a successful medical check by Isco in Berlin, the signature of the 30-year-old star seemed just a matter of form. But in the final contract talks, insurmountable obstacles emerged.
The Munich team had already presented their third winter transfer. Cancelo’s signing comes in response to the long-term absence of Frenchman Lucas Hernández (ruptured cruciate ligament) and the mid-term absence of Moroccan Noussair Mazraoui (inflammation of the pericardium). The 28-year-old Cancelo, for whom the record champions are said to have secured a purchase option of 70 million euros according to media reports, is under contract with the Cityzens until the end of June 2027. “With his attacking style of play and his dynamism, he fits perfectly into our system and with his mentality and experience he also fits in very well with our team,” said sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.
Cancelo should help the Munich team not to gamble away their lead in the title fight, which had melted to one point, after the last three draws in a row. This also applies to goalkeeper Yann Sommer, who was signed from Mönchengladbach and whose transfer was only successful after tough negotiation poker. In addition, the Munich team committed the recently unemployed Dutch international Daley Blind.
The negotiation poker of the Berliners with Ico, who played together with Cristiano Ronaldo and Toni Kroos at Real Madrid and won the Champions League five times, remained unsuccessful. “We would have liked to see Isco with us, but we have our limits. These were exceeded today, contrary to the previous agreements, which is why the transfer does not take place,” said Union manager Oliver Ruhnert. Isco’s consulting agency Gestifute, on the other hand, saw the problem at Union and told “Bild”: “In the course of the talks, we had to realize that our negotiating partner was no longer willing to move within the framework originally discussed.”
Isco was on a free transfer after his contract with Sevilla FC was terminated on December 21 – and would have been another indication of the turning point at the “Big District Club” (“11 Friends”). Nevertheless, after the commitments of the two World Cup participants Josip Juranovic from Croatia and Aïssa Laïdouni from Tunisia, who together cost around 13 million euros, the Köpenicker go into the remaining 16 games of the season strengthened.
Unlike Bayern and Unioner, Borussia Dortmund sifted the market less for established forces and more for talent. After all, the fourth-placed player paid 8.5 million euros for the 16-year-old Julien Duranville from RSC Anderlecht. With the commitment of 25-year-old Julian Ryerson (Union Berlin), BVB closes the gap after Thomas Meunier’s absence and stabilizes the shaky defense.
Despite the absences of Dani Olmo and Christopher Nkunku, the third player from Leipzig decided not to make a last-minute purchase. “We looked at a few options, but nothing was feasible. We decided not to do anything anymore,” said coach Marco Rose.
According to estimates, the 18 Bundesliga clubs invested around 70 million euros in new players this winter. Lending shops still dominate. That makes the sum manageable. In England alone Chelsea, Dortmund’s upcoming Champions League opponents, raised three times the amount. Among other things, the Londoners committed the Ukrainian super talent Mychajlo Mudryk for a fee of up to 100 million euros, world champion Enzo Fernandez could follow for 120 million euros
The most expensive purchases of the Bundesliga transfer period are likely to be Jonas Omlin and Juranovic. The Swiss goalkeeper Omlin moved from Montpellier to Mönchengladbach for an estimated nine million euros – financed by the sale of Sommer. Union Berlin reportedly transferred the same amount to Celtic Glasgow for Juranovic. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim collected the most lavish income of the winter. Georginio Rutter’s departure to Leeds United brought him 13th in the table. proud 28 million euros.
FC Schalke 04 can only dream of such a windfall. Out of necessity, the bottom team sold Florent Mollet, who was only signed in the summer, to FC Nantes for an estimated 1.5 million euros. That helped cover the cost of the six loan additions Niklas Tauer (Mainz), Jere Uronen (Brest), Tim Skarke (Union Berlin), Moritz Jenz (Lorient), Michael Frey (Antwerp) and Éder Balanta (Bruges). .
From Tuesday evening onwards, the clubs can only sign players without a club. On the other hand, professionals are still allowed to move to countries where the transfer window is open. These include Portugal (until February 2nd), Austria (February 6th), Turkey (February 8th) and Switzerland (February 15th).
