Nathanael Mbuku: Augsburg signs winger Mbuku on loan

The winter transfer phase is underway and the German clubs are in the middle of it. Clubs can sign new players until February 1, 2024.

Who will FC Bayern bring in to strengthen their defense? Will striker Serhou Guirassy stay at VfB Stuttgart? And who does Union Berlin want to shoot its way to the top with? These and many other questions will be answered this transfer winter. At t-online you can find an overview of the most important rumors and changes from Germany and the world.

Nathanaël Mbuku is moving on loan from FC Augsburg to French second division club AS Saint-Étienne. As the Bundesliga club announced on Sunday evening, the 21-year-old winger will be on loan for six months. Mbuku, who moved from Stade Reims to Fuggerstadt at the end of January 2023, still has a contract with FCA until June 30, 2027. The clubs agreed not to disclose the terms of the loan.

Mbuku has made three appearances in the Bundesliga so far, one of them this season. In the current season he also played for the FCA U23 in the Bavarian Regional League, where he contributed two goals and an assist.

Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt could strengthen their attack again. According to a report from Sky, the club from Hesse has reached “an in-principle verbal agreement” with Hugo Ekitiké from Paris Saint-Germain. The 21-year-old would therefore be willing to forego several million euros of his salary in Paris in order to play for Eintracht in the future.

The striker was repeatedly traded as part of the package in the summer when Paris poached Eintracht Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani for a very high sum of millions. In the end, however, Ekitiké stayed in the French capital. Negotiations between the two clubs should therefore begin soon. Most recently, Ekitiké was also linked to VfL Wolfsburg.

Douglas Costa has apparently found a new club. The ex-Bayern star, who has been without a club since last October, is probably about to move to Samsunspor in Turkey. This is what transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reports. Costa and table 16th. the Süper Lig are on the way to reaching an oral agreement on a contract until 2026.

Costa left LA Galaxy in the fall. In the USA he played 51 competitive games in which he scored eight goals and eight assists. The Brazilian previously played for Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus Turin and FC Bayern.

Samsunspor is currently trained by former Bundesliga coach Markus Gisdol (TSG Hoffenheim, 1. FC Köln, Hamburger SV). The 54-year-old took over the club around a year and a half after leaving Lokomotiv Moscow and is tied down until the end of the season. In 14 games, Gisdol scored an average of 1.86 points with Samsunspor.

SC Freiburg has responded to the defensive failures by signing Hungarian international Attila Szalai. The 26-year-old is moving to the Breisgauers on loan from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim until the end of the season. Both Bundesliga clubs announced this one day after Freiburg’s 3-2 win against Hoffenheim.

On Saturday, Szalai was in the squad against his new club, but did not play. Szalai’s contract in Hoffenheim runs until June 30, 2027.