Successor to Forsberg
RB Leipzig has announced its first winter transfer: Eljif Elmas is moving from SSC Napoli to the “Red Bulls” on January 1st. The 24-year-old attacking midfielder signed a contract with the Saxons until 2028 and will be the successor to Emil Forsberg, who is moving to the New York Red Bulls after nine years.
A transfer fee of 25 million euros was recently discussed for the North Macedonian international, according to “PictureHowever, it costs a fixed 23 million euros – this sum makes it the world’s second most expensive winter transfer in 2024. In addition, the package should not include any possible bonus payments or later resale shares for Naples. Elmas is Leipzig’s first winter signing in 2024 and the rumored transfer fee makes him the tenth most expensive purchase in the club’s young history, which makes him more expensive than, for example, Christopher Nkunku.
New with Elmas: The most expensive purchases from RB Leipzig
The transfer had been apparent for days, Napoli club boss Aurelio de Laurentiis also confirmed: “Elmas has already been sold”. The right-footer moved from Fenerbahce to the reigning Serie A champions for 16.2 million euros in 2019 and has since moved between the bench and starting eleven, but was almost always used. In 189 games he was directly involved in 30 goals.
RB Leipzig’s Schröder: “We’ve been watching Eljif for a long time”
“With the signing of Eljif Elmas, we have been able to close an important position in the offensive department following the departure of Emil Forsberg. We have been watching Eljif for a long time because his overall package is extremely exciting, his personality fits perfectly into the team and he will strengthen us with his quality,” explained sports director Rouven Schröder.
The 48-year-old continued: “Eljif is technically well trained, runs and dribbles well and is also a goal threat. And above all, he has a very good mentality both with and against the ball. He can be used flexibly and can play centrally offensively but also on both wings. Eljif will also bring some new components to our game with his skills, because his quick start and his physical robustness make him very strong in one-on-one situations and always look for a direct route to the goal.”
Elmas added: “It is an absolute dream for me to move to the Bundesliga and now play for RB Leipzig. The club stands for a special type of football with counter-pressing, speed and a lot of offensive power – that suits me perfectly. The team is a very cool mix of young top talents who can develop excellently here, as well as players who have been at the club for a long time and have experienced and achieved a lot. That’s why the move to Leipzig is exactly the right one for me and I’m really looking forward to getting to know everyone from January.”
Arrivals from Serie A are rare for Leipzig and when they do, they are on loan: for example with Patrik Schick in the 2019/20 season, who came from AS Roma for a fee of 3.5 million euros. A season later, Justin Kluivert was also brought in from Roma – in 2014/15 it was Ante Rebic, who came on loan from Florence. As the second division promoted at the time, Leipzig signed Marvin Compper, also from Florence.
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