Pongracic's permanent departure from Wolfsburg confirmed
Serie A side US Leece confirmed that they had exercised the purchase option on VfL Wolfsburg loanee Marin Pongracic yesterday.
In a rather terse announcement with little fanfare, Italian club US Leece announced that that they had permanently purchased on-loan VfL Wolfsburg defender Marin Pongracic yesterday. The Croatian international - after numerous on-and-off-the-pitch issues with his parent club - was initially loaned out to the Serie A side at the beginning of last season.
No information about a transfer fee was released. After making nine appearances for Leece this year, the 25-year-old's estimated market worth slid down to €4 million in the latest transfermarkt listings. Germany's green company team would presumably liked to have recouped some of the €9 million spent on their transfer flop during the January 2020 transfer window.
It nevertheless also remains possible the VfL front office simply wished to be rid of Pongracic and allowed for him to depart for a pittance. The former RB Salzburg star made a total of 38 Bundesliga appearances for Wolfsburg and on-loan at Dortmund. He garnered two league suspensions for unsportsmanlike conduct and once filed a trade complaint with Wolfsburg over a bonus dispute.
𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐜 𝐞̀ 𝐮𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐜𝐜𝐞!
— U.S. Lecce (@OfficialUSLecce) June 30, 2023
✍🏻 L'U.S. Lecce comunica di aver acquisito, a titolo definitivo, il diritto alle prestazioni sportive del calciatore Marin Pongračić dal VfL Wolfsburg.https://t.co/xxFkEAFxvw pic.twitter.com/8RSv10qWT1