FC Augsburg have added to their attacking options by signing Mergim Berisha from TSG Hoffenheim. The striker is thus returning to the Fuggerstadt.
In the summer of 2023, TSG Hoffenheim transferred a whopping 14 million euros for Mergim Berisha to Augsburg, at the time TSG’s record transfer fee. A year and a half later, the 26-year-old is now returning to the Fugger city. The two clubs announced this on Tuesday morning.
“I really wanted to go back to FCA, because I had my best time here. I felt completely at home, scored a lot of goals and developed enormously,” says Berisha. Augsburg has therefore prevailed in its bid for the striker – Mainz, Bremen and Union Berlin are also said to have shown interest – and Berisha has initially been loaned. At the same time, it was discussed that FCA would be obliged to purchase him in the summer.
Schicker: “A very open and, above all, honest exchange”
“Mergim knows the club and the environment very well. He scored important goals during his time in Augsburg and became a member of the German national team. Mergim should find his way back to his old strength at FCA and will bring additional qualities to our offensive play with his style of play,” said FCA sports director Marinko Jurendic.
Berisha was never able to establish himself in Kraichgau and was also set back by a cruciate ligament rupture. But things have not gone well in the current season either. First, Berisha fell out with former coach Pellegrino Matarazzo and was temporarily suspended, then he was unable to convince new coach Christian Ilzer of his abilities.
“We have had a very open and, above all, honest exchange with Mergim in the past few weeks. We made it clear to him what his current role in our squad is and explained to him transparently why it will be difficult for him to get game time with us in the future,” said Andreas Schicker, Managing Director of Sports at TSG. ‘For this reason, we have jointly come to the conclusion that a loan would be best for all parties.’
He will now return to Augsburg. Berisha previously played for FCA during the 2022/23 season, scoring nine goals in 23 Bundesliga appearances. Berisha has previously played for clubs including Fenerbahce, RB Salzburg, SCR Altach, 1. FC Magdeburg and LASK.