German clubs finalize deadline day deals as Stuttgart and Mainz reject Premier League offers

Loans and purchase options across German divisions

German clubs finalized multiple loan agreements with purchase options before the summer transfer window closed on Tuesday. FC Augsburg secured 20-year-old centre-back Juma Bah on a season-long loan from Manchester City, with a purchase option set at 21.5 million euros. The 1.95-metre Sierra Leone international, who joined Manchester City in January 2025 and made 51 appearances during loans at RC Lens and OGC Nice, took squad number 35 to replace Keven Schlotterbeck. In the 2. Bundesliga, FC Schalke 04 signed 30-year-old forward Hee-chan Hwang on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers with a 3 million euro purchase option. Schalke completed the submission of documents on deadline day while Wolverhampton was playing a fixture, marking Hwang's return to Germany after earlier spells with Hamburger SV and RB Leipzig. Following a slow start to their league campaign, VfL Bochum completed three signings, securing Belgian forward Jarne Steuckers on loan from FC Utrecht on Tuesday with a purchase option. Bochum had signed defender Sean Klaiber on a free transfer from Brondby IF and midfielder Charlie Patiño on loan from Deportivo La Coruña on Monday.

Rejected bids keep key players at Mainz and Stuttgart

Several German clubs resisted late multi-million-euro approaches from foreign suitors on the final day of the transfer window. 1. FSV Mainz 05 rejected a 30 million euro bid from an unnamed Premier League club for Japanese international midfielder Kaishu Sano, with club officials unwilling to sanction a sale for that valuation. VfB Stuttgart retained 25-year-old winger Jamie Leweling after the player turned down a renewed contract proposal from AS Roma. Roma had offered a 35 million euro transfer package, while Premier League club Everton submitted a 43 million euro bid earlier in the window. Neither club reached a valuation agreement with Stuttgart. Roma submitted improved financial terms to both Stuttgart and Leweling on deadline day, but the German international elected to stay with VfB Stuttgart.

Hamburg and Leipzig complete final squad changes

Hamburger SV finalized their tenth addition of the transfer window by securing 24-year-old Norwegian international David Möller Wolfe on a season-long loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers. The left-back arrives following earlier deadline deals for Fabio Vieira and Zakaria El Ouahdi. Hamburger SV board member for sport Kathleen Krüger described the addition in club statements:

With David, we gain a player with experience at club and national team level who recently proved his qualities at the World Cup on football's biggest stage. He reinforces our squad depth and increases the variability in our play.

In an outgoing deal, RB Leipzig sold 19-year-old winger Ayodele Thomas to Dutch Eredivisie club NEC Nijmegen for a transfer fee of around 1 million euros. Thomas departed Leipzig after seven months and signed a contract with Nijmegen running through 2030. The Dutch youth international had arrived at Leipzig from PSV Eindhoven in February 2026 on a deal running to 2031, having previously recorded three goals and six assists in 18 second-tier matches for Jong PSV. Elsewhere across the league, forward Ilyas Ansah left Union Berlin, while winger Nicolas Kühn completed a transfer to Borussia Mönchengladbach.