Wolfsburg may have just cleared Tottenham Hotspur or West Ham United to sign Wout Weghorst before the August 31 deadline after buying Luca Waldschmidt from Benfica.
Mark van Bommel’s Bundesliga outfit completed the signing of Waldschmidt on Sunday for €12m (£10m). The forward returns to Germany after just one season in Portugal, following a summer 2020 transfer from Freiburg.
Waldschmidt enjoyed a productive stay at Benfica, scoring 12 goals and four assists across all competitions. He netted the final two of his haul in the opening two Primeira Liga games of the new term, but played no role in the Aguias’ win over Gil Vicente on Saturday.
Wolfsburg will want to see Waldschmidt rediscover his Bundesliga shooting boots that saw the 25-year-old net 16 and offer six assists in 53 appearances for Freiburg over the 2018/19 and 19/20 seasons. He has also scored twice in seven international fixtures with Germany.
Yet the Siegen native’s move to Volkswagen Arena could have larger consequences on Van Bommel’s plans. Die Wolfe top the Bundesliga table as the only side to win each of their opening two games. But Weghorst, who scored Wolfsburg’s only goal against Bochum on the opening day, is wanted by Tottenham, West Ham and Serie A champions Inter Milan.
Reports by the Express cite Tottenham as a possible move for Weghorst, who is intrigued by a Premier League transfer. The Athletic also report West Ham want the 29-year-old, who Gianluca Di Marzio now claims Inter have recently considered signing.
Di Marzio also notes Wolfsburg would sell Weghorst amid Inter Milan’s interest for just €15m-20m (£13m-£17m). Only marginally more than the early Bundesliga leaders paid Benfica for Waldschmidt, to potentially hand Van Bommel a ready-made replacement?
Have Wolfsburg cleared the path for Tottenham or West Ham to sign Weghorst?
Wolfsburg will not want to lose Weghorst after the 10-cap international started the campaign as strongly as he ended 2020/21. He scored 20 goals and nine assists in 34 outings under former manager Oliver Glasner at Volkswagen Arena last season.
But Wolfsburg could be more open to selling Tottenham, West Ham and Inter Milan target Weghorst now they have Waldschmidt. Potentially clearing a path for the Premier League and Serie A sides to land a forward Glasner admired considerably.
“He’s the most dangerous player in front of goal that I’ve ever coached,” Glasner said, via Bundesliga.com. Die Wolfe Managing Director Jorg Schmadtke has also said of Weghorst: “It’s a special quality to have as a striker that even if you’re not particularly in the game, you still manage to score. He always just keeps going because he knows that the next situation could be decisive.”
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