Chapter 29: The Crazy Transfer Market

After securing victory against Aberdeen in the friendly match, Werder Bremen had only one more friendly match left in July.

Coach Shauf was very satisfied with the team's offensive coordination in the two matches in the midfield and forward positions.

With the addition of Lin Quan and De Bruyne, Werder Bremen's attacking firepower this season was even stronger than the previous season.

However, the problem with the team's defense still existed, so Shauf began to look for the defenders he wanted in the transfer market.

He first made a bid of 1.5 million euros for Teodor Selasi, a 26-year-old defender from Liberec.

Liberec was the champion of the Czech First League last season and will participate in the Champions League next season.

Therefore, they were unwilling to sell their players at a low price at this time. In response to Werder Bremen's offer, they flatly refused and stated that Selasi was not for sale.

However, because the level of the Czech league is relatively low and not highly regarded, they find it difficult to keep players who receive invitations from the top five leagues.

As long as the other party offers a price that is enough to impress them, they will ultimately agree to the player's transfer.

Shauf was well aware of this. After all, leagues in Eastern Europe, such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and even Ukraine, are the hunting grounds for the Bundesliga.

If they want to buy players from these places, unless they are also targeted by the top clubs in the top five leagues, there is nothing they can't buy!

So, he added 300,000 euros to the 1.5 million euro offer and made a bid of 1.8 million euros.

Liberec was impressed by this offer, as they didn't see Selasi as an indispensable key player.

If they could get 1.8 million euros from Werder Bremen, they could go back to the transfer market and buy some young talents to develop. As long as they could cultivate a star player among these talents, they would profit.

So they accepted Werder Bremen's offer and reached this transfer deal.

Selasi can play as a full-back or a winger, making him a versatile player.

However, the team's defense still needed strengthening, so they needed to continue buying players.

Before buying players, they needed to buy the main center-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who was loaned from Genoa.

The Greek player, 24 years old, is in his prime. His value was as high as 8 million euros two years ago.

However, after joining AC Milan in the 2009-2010 season, due to intense competition within the team, he did not get enough playing time, causing his value to plummet to 2 million euros.

Last season, Werder Bremen loaned him, and after a season, his performance had won unanimous praise from fans and the club.

Shauf believed he was a very capable and promising player, so he made a bid of 2 million euros to buy him outright.

Genoa, although not planning to recall Papastathopoulos, also didn't want to sell him at such a low price.

Especially considering his excellent performance in the Bundesliga last season, 2 million euros was not enough to convince them.

So they rejected Werder Bremen's offer and even suggested that it would take at least 5 million euros to take away the Greek player.

This price exceeded Werder Bremen's bottom line. Shauf gritted his teeth, raised the offer to 3.5 million euros, and told Genoa that this was Werder Bremen's bottom line, and they wouldn't buy if the price went any higher.

When Genoa heard this offer, they immediately agreed to the deal, making Shauf understand that he had been tricked, which made him very angry.

But angry as he was, he knew in his heart that he had picked up a big bargain.

Three and a half million euros to buy a starting center-back who could serve the team for seven or eight seasons, this deal was too profitable!

Moreover, based on Papastathopoulos's performance in the Bundesliga last season, if he could continue his excellent performance this season,

Then he was very likely to be coveted by some top clubs. When the time comes, if the team wants to sell him, there will be no problem selling him, and they might even make a big profit.

So he informed the club and quickly signed Papastathopoulos.

After buying two defenders, Werder Bremen's budget was almost depleted.

Therefore, they had to sign Lukimya, a center-back from Fortuna Düsseldorf last season, on a free transfer basis.

Although Lukimya was a free agent, his strength was not weak.

He was the defensive linchpin for Fortuna Dusseldorf in the previous season as they aimed for promotion to the Bundesliga. Originally, he was set to transfer to Bundesliga club Cologne.

However, Cologne's unexpected relegation last season led to the collapse of this transfer.

Not wanting to play in a lower-tier league, he naturally accepted Werder Bremen's offer without hesitation.

After signing three defenders and promoting a young player from the team's academy, Werder Bremen, known for their prudent financial management, concluded their transfers for the season.

This summer, Werder Bremen earned €11.25 million from player sales and spent €6.25 million on buying and loaning players.

After tallying up, they made a net profit of €5 million, a small but profitable gain.

In contrast to Werder Bremen's frugal approach, this year in the European football transfer market, the big spenders splurged on their desired players.

Russian super-rich club Zenit St. Petersburg acquired Porto forward Hulk for €50 million, showcasing Russia's formidable financial power.

Paris Saint-Germain signed AC Milan's key defender Thiago Silva for €42 million, nearly breaking the transfer fee record for defenders, and demonstrating the financial might of Middle Eastern tycoons.

Not to be outdone, Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich spent €40 million to acquire Athletic Bilbao's main defender, Javi Martinez.

This transfer directly broke the Bundesliga's historical transfer record, raising the threshold from €33 million to €40 million.

Athletic Bilbao didn't want to sell Martinez, so Bayern had to pay the release clause to take him away.

This transfer also allowed Bayern to find the final piece of their championship puzzle.

The extravagance of the big spenders seemed to ignite the enthusiasm of elite clubs to buy players.

So, they began to make moves.

Chelsea bought Hazard from Lille for £32 million.

Real Madrid took Modric from Tottenham for £30 million.

Arsenal's captain, Van Persie, transferred to Manchester United for £24 million.

...

The flood of transfer news was overwhelming, and initially, these had nothing to do with Lin Quan and others.

However, over at Barcelona, Mundo Deportivo revealed a small piece of news:

A Scottish Premier League club made a €5 million offer to Barcelona, hoping to bring Lin Quan from the youth team to play in the Scottish Premier League.

Because this report was brief and had no follow-up, it was quickly forgotten.

Lin Quan was completely unaware of this.

However, someone at Barcelona couldn't sit still.

"Damn it, what did that kid do? Why are Bundesliga clubs already receiving offers before the season even starts?"

This Sunday, there might be a recommendation, so please don't abandon the book. Just take a quick look when it's out.

(End of this chapter)