Bundesliga News

Report:
Köln and Schalke emerge as suitors for seldom-used Waldschmidt

By Peter Weis   @PeterVicey

With his playing prospects under VfL trainer Niko Kovac dwindling, a new locale for German international Luca Waldschmidt seems a mutually beneficial move for both player and club. 

Germany's Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung reports that Waldschmidt's agent is currently mulling over a loan-out to 1. FC Köln. FC Schalke are also reported to be interested. 
Luca Waldschmidt.
Luca Waldschmidt.
Seven-times-capped German international Luca Waldschmidt's return to German football hasn't exactly gone as planned. The former SC Freiburg standout moved back to the Bundesliga in the autumn of 2021 after a not wholly unsuccessful season spent in Portugal still left him off the German national team's radar.


The now 26-year-old managed just 14 league appearances last year for VfL Wolfsburg under the coaching regimes of Mark van Brommel and Florian Kohfeldt. Waldschmidt has made just three starts for current VfL trainer Niko Kovac this season. Kovac has kept him on the bench since round seven of the current campaign.

Having become totally expendable, finding a new club for the player shall still prove difficult. According to the local Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung, Waldschmidt's agent Volker Struth has been active in trying to secure a loan-out to 1. FC Köln for the second half of the Bundesliga season. Such a rumor makes sense as Köln are seeking economical solutions in augmenting their attack.

The Lower Saxon paper nevertheless reports that Waldschmidt's high salary - part of the four-year-deal he inked with die Wölfe in 2021 - may actually prove an impediment to this. Clubs such as listed interested parties Köln and Schalke obviously don't wish to take the player's full wages onto their payroll.

Shared salary arrangements, common enough in the business of football, can still take significant time to iron out. Waldschmidt's current status at his current club definitely indicates that the Siegen native will be on the move in the coming transfer period.


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