It’s that time of the year when contracts expire and the transfer frenzy begins, so here’s what’s been happening in Germany’s Bundesliga and what the big clubs need to do before the window closes.
Borussia Dortmund
Signings: Ivan Perisic (Club Brugge - €5.5m), Chris Lowe (Chemnitz - €200k), Ilkay Gundogan (FC Nurnberg - €4m)
Departures: Nuri Sahin (Real Madrid - €10m), Markus Feulner (FC Nurnberg - €200k), Tamas Hajnal (VfB Stuttgart - €1m Permanent), Lasse Sobiech (St Pauli – Loan), Dede (released)
The departure of Nuri Sahin is a blow as Dortmund weren’t as strong while he was out injured in the second-half of last season. However, Shinji Kagawa will be like a new signing when he returns from injury and could cover his loss but he does play a different position to Sahin.
The acquisitions of young talents Ivan Perisic and Ilkay Gundogan fits into the club’s philosophy of a youthful squad and if Jurgen Klopp can keep together the defence which was so hard to penetrate during the 2010-11 season then they will be hard to stop again next term.
Bayer Leverkusen
Signings: Andre Schurrle (FSV Mainz - €8m), Karim Bellarabi (Eintracht Braunschweig – Free), Omer Toprak (SC Freiburg - €3m)
Departures: Constant Djakpa (Eintracht Frankfurt – Undisclosed), Richard Sukuta-Pasu (Kaiserslautern - €300k), Marcel Risse (FSV Mainz - €800k), Sami Hyypia (retired), Tomasz Bobel (retired), Kevin Kampl (VfL Osnabruck), Domagoj Vida (Dinamo Zagreb), Benedikt Fernandez (released)
Robin Dutt has been brought in from SC Freiburg to replace Jupp Heynckes who has moved to Bayern. Mainz forward Andre Schurrle had already been signed before Dutt was brought on, but is a fine signing who will add a lot.
Hanging onto last season’s star player Arturo Vidal will be one of the big challenges during the off-season for Leverkusen, with a number of clubs rumoured to be keen on the Chilean including Bayern Munich and AC Milan.
Bayern Munich
Signings: Rafinha (Genoa – €7m.), Takashi Usami (Gamba Osaka – Loan), Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04 - €18m), Nils Petersen (Energie Cottbus - €2.8m), David Alaba (TSG Hoffenheim – Loan Return)
Departures: Miroslav Klose (Lazio – Free), Martin Demichelis (Malaga - €3m), Hamit Altintop (Real Madrid – Free), Andreas Ottl (Hertha Berlin – Free), Thomas Kraft (Hertha Berlin – Free), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (FSV Mainz – Free), Mehmet Ekici (Werder Bremen - €5m Permanent)
It’s been all change at the Allianz Arena this close season, with several big names moving on including Miroslav Klose and Hamit Altintop, however their influence on the Bayern side had been waining. Therefore, new boss Jupp Heynckes has freshened up the squad with some new faces.
The big addition, though, has been signing Manuel Neuer from Schalke as Bayern finally look to solve their problematic goalkeeping position which they haven’t really filled since Oliver Kahn’s retirement. Bayern are also chasing Leverkusen’s Arturo Vidal and Manchester City’s Jerome Boateng.
Hannover 96
Signings: Artur Sobiech (Polonia Warsaw), Christian Pander (Schalke 04), Henning Hauger (Stabaek)
Departures: Florian Fromlowitz (MSV Duisburg), Constant Djakpa (Bayer Leverkusen – Loan Return), DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla)
Mirko Slomka guided Hannover to an exceptional fourth-place finish last term and they will hoping for more of the same next season, but the club haven’t been spending big on doing so. Goalkeeper Florian Fromlowitz has made way following Rob-Robert Zieler’s success.
Polish international Artur Sobiech is a big acquisition but he is unproven at this level, while Norwegian Henning Hauger will try his luck in Germany. The free transfer signing of Christian Pander isn’t bad business.
Hamburg SV
Signings: Jeffrey Bruma (Chelsea – Loan), Goekhan Toere (Chelsea -Undisclosed), Jacopo Sala (Chelsea - €100k), Michael Mancienne (Chelsea - €2.5m), Marcus Berg (PSV Eindhoven – Loan Return), Mickael Tavares (Middlesbrough – Loan Return)
Departures: Frank Rost (released), Ze Roberto (released), Piotr Trochowski (FC Sevilla – Free), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Malaga – Free), Joris Mathijsen (Malaga - €1m), Tunay Torun (Hertha Berlin – Free), Collin Benjamin (1860 Munich), David Rozehnal (Lille - Permanent)
Michael Oenning has made a number of signings from Chelsea this off-season with the addition of Michael Mancienne the trump card for his side’s defence. However the departure of Frank Rost is part of a generational change, alongside Ze Roberto, Piotr Trochowski and Joris Mathijsen.
There has been talk of some youthful additions including Basel’s Swiss midfield star Xherdan Shaqiri. It remains to be seen if Guy Demel and Mladen Petric remain at the AOL Arena next term.
Schalke 04
Signings: Marco Hoger (Alemmania Aachen - €1.5m), Christian Fuchs (FSV Mainz - €3.8m), Ralf Fahrmann (Eintracht Frankfurt – Free), Lewis Holtby (FSV Mainz – Loan Return), Jermaine Jones (Blackburn Rovers – Loan Return), Carlos Zambrano (St Pauli – Loan Return), Jan Moravek (FC Kaiserslautern – Loan Return)
Departures: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich - €18m), Patrick Rakovsky (FC Nurnberg - €100k), Aleksandar Stevanovic (Werder Bremen – Free), Lukas Schmitz (Werder Bremen - €1m), Gerald Asamoah (released), Nicolas Plestan (released), Ali Karimi (Persepolis – Free), Angelos Charisteas (released), Christian Pander (Hannover 96)
Last Bundesliga campaign was a disaster for Schalke, however it’s easy to forget this side went to the Uefa Champions League semi-finals and won the German DFB Pokal. It wasn’t all bad and Ralf Rangnick clearly has something to work with.
However, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has left in a big blow to their aspirations and they had been linked with veteran stopper Jens Lehmann, but Ralf Fahrmann could be the replacement. Schalke have added impressive midfielder Christian Fuchs, while Lewis Holtby is back and could be ready for regular action after a fine loan spell at Mainz.
Werder Bremen
Signings: Marcus Rosenberg (Racing Santander – Loan Return), Aleksandar Stevanovic (Schalke 04 – Free), Lukas Schmitz (Schalke 04 - €1m), Tom Trybull (Hansa Rostock - €200k), Mehmet Ekici (Bayern Munich - €5m Permanent)
Departures: Peter Niemeyer (Hertha Berlin - €700k), Petri Pasanen (Red Bull Salzburg), Daniel Jensen (released), Torsten Frings (Toronto FC), Samuel (Anderlecht), Jurica Vranjes (released)
Werder defender Per Mertesacker wants to see reinforcements at Bremen after a dismal 2010-11 campaign but hanging onto Marko Marin and Tim Wiese might be a major challenge. However, defensively the Green-Whites could add Andreas Wolf and Sokratis Papastathopoulos.
Werder have secured Mehmet Ekici on a permanent deal, while veteran Torsten Frings has moved on along with Petri Pasanen and Daniel Jensen. There’s also talk of a move for young Serbian midfielder Aleksandar Ignjovski.
FC Augsburg
Signings: Sebastian Langkamp (Karlsruhe SC), Patrick Mayer (FC Heidenheim), Lorenzo Davids (NEC Nijmegen), Sascha Molders (FSV Frankfurt)
Departures: Ibrahima Traore (VfB Stuttgart – Free), Kees Kwakman (FC Groningen), Moritz Leitner (Borussia Dortmund – Loan Return), Lukas Sinkiewicz (VfL Bochum)
Jos Muhukay’s newly-promoted side have made some interesting additions including young Dutch talent Lorenzo Davids and Patrick Mayer who was prolific at Heidenheim. Sebastian Langkamp has played top flight football before and is a good addition.
Borussia Moenchengladbach
Signings: Lukas Rupp (Karlsruhe SC - €600k), Matthias Zimmermann (Karlsruhe SC - €1m), Oscar Wendt (FC Kobenhavn – Free), Joshua King (Manchester United – Loan), Mathew Leckie (Adelaide United – Free), Michael Bradley (Aston Villa – Loan Return), Marcel Meeuwis (Feyenoord – Loan Return), Raul Bobadilla (Aris – Loan Return)
Departures: Sebastian Schachten (St Pauli), Michael Fink (Besiktas – Loan Return), Jean-Sebastian Jaures (retired), Christian Dorda (Greuther Furth), Logan Bailly (Neuchatel Xamax – Loan), Karim Matmour (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Lucien Favre came in and somehow kept Moenchengladbach in the top flight last term and now the club has backed him. American midfielder Michael Bradley could be back permanently after Aston Villa declined to sign him, while they’ve added Manchester United’s young Norwegian striker Joshua King.
SC Freiburg
Signings: Garra Dembele (Levski Sofia - €2.3m), Daniel Batz (FC Nurnberg – Free), Beg Ferati (FC Basel - Free)
Departures: Omer Toprak (Bayer Leverkusen - €3m), Simon Pouplin (released), Zvonko Pamic (Bayer Leverkusen – Loan Return)
Freiburg have already lost their manager Robin Dutt and now they face the challenge of hanging onto prolific striker Papiss Cisse with a host of clubs keen on him. They have braced for his departure by signing striker Garra Dembele.
Hertha Berlin
Signings: Andreas Ottl (Bayern Munich – Free), Maik Franz (Eintracht Frankfurt – Free), Peter Niemeyer (Werder Bremen - €700k Permanent), Thomas Kraft (Bayern Munich – Free), Tunay Torun (Hamburg SV – Free)
Departures: Valeri Domovchiyski (MSV Duisburg), Lennart Hartmann (Alemannia Aachen)
Markus Babbel guided Hertha to the 2.Bundesliga title last term and he’ll be looking to build on that. They’ve already secured Andreas Ottl from Bayern, while they’ve added a number of others who have vast Bundesliga experience.
1899 TSG Hoffenheim
Signings: Michael Gregoritsch (FC Kapfenberg – Undisclosed), Fabian Johnson (VfL Wolfsburg - €700k), Sven Schipplock (VfB Stuttgart II – Free), Prince Tagoe (Partizan Belgrade – Loan Return), Franco Zuculini (Racing – Loan Return)
Departures: Wilson Kamavuaka (FC Nurnberg – Free), David Alaba (Bayern Munich – Loan Return), Ramazan Ozcan (FC Ingolstadt)
Ex-St Pauli boss Holger Stanislawski has come into the top job at Hoffenheim and he may have to battle to keep Andreas Beck and Marvin Compper. Hoffenheim may be keen to bring David Alaba back after his loan stint.
FC Kaiserslautern
Signings: Dorge Kouemaha (Club Brugge – Loan), Gil Vermouth (Hapoel Tel Aviv - €800k), Konstantinos Fortounis (Asteras Tripolis - €800k), Richard Sukuta-Pasu (Bayer Leverkusen - €300k), Olcay Cahan (MSV Duisburg – Free)
Departures: Philipp Klement (FC Nurnberg – Free), Srdjan Lakic (VfL Wolfsburg – Free), Jan Moravek (Schalke 04 – Loan Return)
FCK boss Marco Kurz has lost free-scoring forward Srdjan Lakic on a free transfer which wasn’t ideal. There’s been a few additions including Greece under-21 international Konstantinos Fortounis.
FC Koln
Signings: Odise Roshi (Flamurtari Vlore)
Departures: Thomas Kessler (Eintracht Frankfurt – Loan), Taner Yalcin (Istanbul BB – Loan), Mata Jajalo (Siena – Loan Return), Fabrice Ehret (Evian), Simon Terodde (Union Berlin – Loan), Stephan Salger (VfL Osnabruck), Reinhold Yobo (Alemmania Aachen - Loan)
New Koln boss Stale Solbakken has been very quiet this transfer season, but they have been linked with Hamburg’s Jonathan Pitroipa. There’s no major departures for Koln so far.
FSV Mainz
Signings: Anthony Ujah (Lillestrom - €2.3m), Julian Baumgartlinger (Austria Vienna - €1.1m), Fabian Schonheim (Wehen Wiesbaden - €400k), Andreas Ivanschitz (Panathinaikos - €200k Permanent), Deniz Yilmaz (Bayern Munich II – Free), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Hamburg SV – Free), Marcel Risse (Bayer Leverkusen - €800k), Nicolai Muller (Greuther Furth - €1.8m), Yunus Malli (Borussia Moenchengladbach II – Free), Zdenek Pospech (FC Kobenhavn – Free), Zoltan Stieber (Alemmania Aachen - €1.5m), Eugen Polanski (Getafe – Permanent)
Departures: Andre Schurrle (Bayer Leverkusen - €8m), Stefan Bell (Eintracht Frankfurt – Loan), Christian Fuchs (Schalke 04 - €3.8m), Lewis Holtby (Schalke 04 – Loan Return), Martin Pieckenhagen (retired), Malik Fathi (Spartak Moscow – Loan Return), Jan Simak (Carl Zeiss Jena), Miroslav Karhan (Spartak Trnava)
Thomas Tuchel worked wonders at Mainz last season and he’s been busy again this off-season with a massive number of player changes already. Zoltan Stieber was excellent for Alemmania Aachen last term, providing plenty of assists and is a good signing, but it may be hard replacing Andre Schurrle, Lewis Holtby and Christian Fuchs.
FC Nurnberg
Signings: Daniel Didavi (VfB Stuttgart – Loan), Patrick Rakovsky (Schalke 04 - €100k), Philipp Klement (Kaiserslautern – Free), Wilson Kamavuaka (TSG Hoffenheim – Free), Markus Feulner (Borussia Dortmund - €200k), Alexander Esswein (Dynamo Dresden - €200k), Manuel Seitz (Saarbrucken – Free), Timm Klose (FC Thun - €400k), Tomas Pekhart (Jablonec - €2m)
Departures: Ilkay Gundogan (Borussia Dortmund - €4m), Daniel Batz (SC Freiburg – Free), Andreas Wolf (released), Marek Mintal (Hansa Rostock), Julian Schieber (VfB Stuttgart – Loan Return), Timo Ochs (1860 Munich)
Dieter Hecking has let go experienced duo Marek Mintal and Andreas Wolf, but they will be hoping Markus Feulner can provide some attacking spark after the departure of Ilkay Gundogan to Dortmund. Czech striker Tomas Pekhart is young but a bit of a gamble at €2m.
VfB Stuttgart
Signings: William Kvist (FC Kobenhavn - €3.5m), Christoph Hemlein (TSG Hoffenheim II – Free), Ibrahima Traore (FC Augsburg – Free), Tamas Hajnal (Borussia Dortmund - €1m Permanent), Julian Schieber (FC Nurnberg – Loan Return)
Departures: Daniel Didavi (FC Nurnberg – Loan), Philipp Degen (Liverpool – Loan Return), Patrick Funk (St Pauli – Loan), Elson (released)
Bruno Labbadia will be eager to turn Stuttgart’s fortunes again next term with a top-half finish required. Stuttgart are chasing Felipe Santana from Dortmund, while they had added Danish defender William Kvist amid some speculation Serdar Tesci could be lured away.
VfL Wolfsburg
Signings: Mateusz Klich (Cracovia - €1.5m), Patrick Ochs (Eintracht Frankfurt - €3m), Srdjan Lakic (Kaiserslautern - Free)
Departures: Fabian Johnson (TSG Hoffenheim - €700k), Cicero (Trobense – Loan Return), Karim Ziani (Kayserispor – Permanent), Kevin Wolze (MSV Duisburg), Grafite (Al-Ahli Dubai), Dieumerci Mbokani (Monaco – Loan Return), Sergei Karimov (MSV Duisburg)
Felix Magath’s Wolves, who were champions in 2009, fell a long way last term and they’ve let Grafite go, following on from Edin Dzeko’s January departure. Wing-back Patrick Ochs is a shrewd addition while Srdjan Lakic could very well score plenty of goals.
