Zero to ten players per club
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Many well-known and valuable Bundesliga professionals are in the last year of their contract: veterans such as Maximilian Arnold (Wolfsburg), Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim) and Jae-sung Lee (Mainz) are among the best players at their clubs and can sign with a new club from January 1st.
Dayot Upamecano and five other professionals are at risk of leaving FC Bayern for free. At BVB there are also six plus loan player Aarón Anselmino (Chelsea) – including Julian Brandt and top earner Niklas Süle, while HSV’s squad value could fall by 52 percent in the summer.
After his increase in the market value update to 60 million euros, Upamecano is actually the world’s most valuable footballer with an expiring contract and is therefore also in the top eleven of the most valuable Bundesliga professionals with the end of his contract in 2026. “That’s the big topic for us: the Upa extension. That’s what is above all else for us,” said Bayern sports director Max Eberl about the negotiations that have been dragging on for months.
While Bayern are trying to sign Upamecano, players like Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry would probably like to extend their contract. The French central defender is likely to see a salary close to €20m per season, like Goretzka and Gnabry have been earning since 2021 and 2022 respectively. The German national players will only be able to stay if they are prepared to make significant cuts in salary.
It should be more about the length of the contract than about the salary at VfL Wolfsburg, where record player Arnold is hoping for an agreement. “I want to stay. Everyone has their ideas, there are things that can be discussed and some that cannot be discussed,” he told the “Kicker”. According to “Sport Bild”, the Wolves are offering a two-year contract, while Arnold is hoping for three seasons.
Traditionally, promoted teams have many expiring contracts or loans – including 1. FC Köln and Hamburger SV. The Rothosen have five working papers ending, including those of regular players Ransford Königsdörffer and Daniel Heuer Fernandes, as well as five loans. Especially because of Fábio Vieira (Arsenal) and Luka Vuskovic (Tottenham), if these ten professionals leave, Hamburg faces a loss in the squad value of 55.4 million euros (in addition to all expiring HSV contracts).
Cologne could lose regulars like Eric Martel and Timo Hübers, while loan players Jakub Kaminski (Wolfsburg), Tom Krauß (Mainz) and Kristoffer Lund (Palermo) can reportedly be signed for a total of around 13 million euros (in addition to all expiring FC contracts).
The Bundesliga average is currently 6.7 expiring contracts per club. Bayer Leverkusen in particular are dragging this down because only the loan of Man City professional Claudio Echeverri ends at the Werkself. SC Freiburg is left out of this calculation because SC prefers to keep its contract duration secret from the media and fans.
Many of these negotiations between professionals who can be found on this list and Bundesliga clubs will also be held publicly in the coming weeks and months. If no agreement is in sight, there is the possibility of a separation in the winter transfer window, including a manageable transfer fee for the releasing club.
