Since taking office in the summer, Steffen Baumgart has turned 1. FC Köln upside down. A victim of the upheaval in the cathedral city is now facing a change.
As sporting director Thomas Kessler confirmed on Sunday afternoon, Effzeh has accepted an offer for defender Jorge Meré. The Spaniard is on the verge of a transfer to CF America from Mexico. “We have agreed on a transfer contract with the Mexican club. This also includes the medical check-up,” Kessler told Geissblog.
The central defender was released for the game against FC Bayern on Saturday and was probably no longer in Cologne. According to “kicker”, Meré is already in Mexico City and will soon complete the medical check-up.
According to ESPN, Meré will sign a three-year contract with America. It is not known how high the fee for the 24-year-old will be. Meré is currently tied to Cologne until the summer of 2023. However, it is said that the Bundesliga club wants to be assured of a clause that guarantees participation in future transfers.
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Meré switched from Sporting Gijón to the Rhinelanders in 2017 for around seven million euros. Since then, the defender has played 57 Bundesliga games for the three-time German champions. Under Steffen Baumgart, however, the right foot was no longer the first choice.
For the coach, the question of a successor has been the focus for a few days. Due to the departure of Rafael Czichos and Sava-Angel Cestic, Effzeh has already been weakened in terms of personnel on the defensive. Without Meré, there would only be two trained central defenders in the squad in Luca Kilian and Timo Hübers. Baumgart recently vehemently called for reinforcements in the defence.
Sports director Kessler has therefore now announced that “a successor for Jorge should be committed as soon as possible”. “It is clear that we will take a closer look at the transfer market. We have already had the first talks and are looking,” the former goalkeeper continued.
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