Borussia ready to talk
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Ex-U21 national player Luca Netz’s contract with Borussia Mönchengladbach expires in June 2026. With a market value of 6 million euros, the 22-year-old is one of the most valuable Bundesliga professionals with an ending working paper (for statistics). Although Netz has been in the starting line-up five times in a row, the Foals are ready to talk in January and according to rumors from Italy a buyer could be found in Lazio. There may be a need there because Nuno Tavares is negotiating a move to Saudi Arabia.
“Relevo” reporter Matteo Moretto recently reported on this. The 25-year-old is in advanced discussions with the Al-Ittihad Club, although there are still slightly different ideas regarding salary. Tavares’ Portuguese compatriot Sérgio Conceição has been the coach in Jeddah since October. On the left, the 51-year-old has the local professionals Muath Fagihy (23) and Hassan Kadesh (24) as well as the Albanian national player Mario Mitaj (22) at his disposal. With a market value of 15 million euros, Tavares is valued at more than twice as much as the trio combined, despite a 5 million devaluation in the Serie A update on December 23rd.
Tavares got off to a very strong start at Lazio after his loan from Arsenal about a year and a half ago and had eight Serie A assists in 23 games. Despite ongoing injury problems in spring 2025, the permanent commitment for 5 million euros was a sure-fire success. The fact that the three-time national player was not a candidate for departure again in the summer was also due to the fact that Lazio was banned from registering players until this winter due to exceeding the Italian association’s financial indices. In January, Lazio can react to a Tavares sale in which 40 percent of the transfer fee would go to London – with a net?
Why Luca Netz could become an issue at Lazio
According to “Bild”, there was fundamental interest from Laziali in the summer, but a transfer was ruled out for the reasons mentioned. The “Rheinische Post”, which is close to Gladbach, considers the transfer in the winter to be unlikely and quotes an anonymous Lazio expert. According to him, there is hardly any need for action due to the ex-Frankfurt player Luca Pellegrini (26), who was recently a regular after another injury to Tavares and received a slight increase in market value, as well as the flexible Adam Marusic (33) and Elseid Hysaj (31). In addition, the focus would be more on the offensive. The truth is that Hysaj no longer plays a role under Maurizio Sarri this season, but – like Tavares – is one of the top earners. The Persepolis FC was recently traded as an interested party.
Netz, according to the “RP”, does not necessarily want to make a decision about the future in January. Of course, something like that can change quickly with the transfer window open for four weeks. Gladbach’s new sports director Rouven Schröder said with a view to the ex-Herthan player and what was probably the last chance for a transfer: “If there is a situation in the winter where there is interest in Luca, then we will discuss it. It is of course an opportunity to raise money in the winter. But if not, we are not afraid to see it through until the summer. We will then see what happens.”