Second top access to Ache
© Imago
The 1st FC Köln pulled the exit clause of ísak Jóhannesson at the last moment and hired the 22 -year -old Icelander from Archrival Fortuna Düsseldorf. This was only valid until May 31 and was apparently activated in good time, on Sunday the Bundesliga promoter officially presented the second newcomer. The central midfielder receives a contract until 2030.
As before at Ragnar Ache, which also comes through an exit clause from 1.FC Kaiserslautern for 4.5 million euros, a seven -digit amount is due for Jóhannesson. It is 5.5 million euros that flow from one to the other side of the Rhine. The issue of the second division champion thus increases to 10 million euros-most recently, the investments in the 2020/21 squad were higher.
“Isak has taken a very positive development in recent years and is ready for the step to the Bundesliga. It is strong and playful, variable in the central midfield and brings the football quality that we were looking for for our squad. We are very happy that he chose FC,” said FC sports director Thomas Kessler.
In the summer of 2024, Jóhannesson came to Düsseldorf for a loan for 2 million euros from FC Copenhagen and increased its market value to EUR 7 million this year. Overall, he brought it to 69 missions for the Fortuna and showed his danger with eleven goals and six templates, especially this season. “We would have liked to go into the next season with ísak, but the development was foreseeable. After his loan, we were able to continue to tie such a talented player by granting an exit clause to Fortuna. Due to his strong development, especially this season, we were clear that he would call for first division.
Few Fortuna fans should taste that the top performer Jóhannesson is moving to the archrival in Cologne. Since 2000 there have been only two changes between the two clubs: in 2012 Adam Matuszczyk switched from Cologne to Düsseldorf on a loan, in the same year Thomas Bröker moved to FC.