Köln confirm Waldschmidt's permanent capture: "I will give 111 percent."

Not long after reports about the permanent signing began surfacing yesterday, 1. FC Köln confirmed German attacker Luca Waldschmidt's acquisition from VfL Wolfsburg. Nothing was revealed about either the duration of the contract or Köln's payment to Germany's green company team. Germany's Kicker Magazine reports that Effzeh sporting director Christian Keller found a way to reduce the €3-4 million sum that recently stalled negotiations.

The signing of the seven-times-capped German international constitutes quite the coup for the cathedral city side, who - hamstrung by a transfer ban - are only able to sign loan players on their current roster. It does not appear to be the case that die Geißböcke can retain the services of SGE loanee Faride Alidou. Danish right-back Rasmus Carstensen may yet still be tied down. 

"We are delighted that Luca will become an integral part of our team after his loan," Keller noted in a club statement, "His first year at FC was not easy for Luca from various perspectives, including his fibula fracture last winter. All the more reason for us to now look ahead together. Luca has the footballing quality to give our attacking play decisive impetus. We are very confident that he will furnish this quality even more consistently in the new season."

"Since my first day at FC, my identification and connection with the club and the city has been ver significant," the player himself added, "Going into the second division with FC now is a conscious decision. I want to be successful with FC so that the path leads back to where the club and its outstanding fans belong: the Bundesliga. I will give 111 percent to achieve this."