With Nathan Tella, Bayer 04 have made their most expensive purchase this summer. The attacker, who costs more than 20 million euros including bonuses and arrives from Southampton FC, makes for a perfect transfer summer on the acquisition side
There are growing signs that the deal is close to completion. Then on Friday night, England expert David Ornstein announced the agreement between the clubs, according to which Bayer will pay 23 million euros including bonuses for the 24-year-old versatile right winger Tella. Southampton are also said to have secured a sell-on clause. Leverkusen officially announced the transfer on Sunday.
With a base fee said to be €20 million, the Englishman is Leverkusen’s most expensive addition this summer, which is quite remarkable. After all, the attacker, who comes from the Arsenal school, proved to be a late bloomer in his career.
Having previously made just 33 appearances and scored one goal in the Premier League, it was only last season that the extremely quick attacker made his first splash, scoring 17 goals in the Championship for Burnley FC on loan.
Leverkusen’s perfect transfer summer
But Leverkusen are naturally convinced of the investment. “We got a fast and goal-threatening outfielder who already brings a bit of experience but still has development potential,” said managing director Simon Rolfes. “Nathan gives our offence additional variability, with his pace and footballing quality he will be an asset to our team.”
With Tella, Bayer 04 have now made all the purchases that were mandatory for this summer. “Many younger players from the Premier League have been given a chance in the Bundesliga and have been able to improve decisively here,” said Tella, who will wear shirt number 19 at Bayer. “But above all, the Leverkusen team is of course the reason for my decision,” said Tella. “This is an impressive team that made it to the semi-finals of the Europa League in pre-season. I have a great desire to continue on this path with Bayer 04.”
And the record reads outstanding when it comes to names: Granit Xhaka, Jonas Hofmann, Alejandro Grimaldo, Victor Boniface, Artur, Josip Stanisic, goalkeeping talent Matej Kovar and, of course, Tella. On the purchasing side, the managers, Fernando Carro and Rolfes, can already look back on a perfect summer.