RB Leipzig have announced that they have completed the loan signing of midfielder Arthur Vermeeren from La Liga side Atletico Madrid on a season long-loan with an obligation to buy.
The Spanish side, as reported by Sky Germany, will receive around €3m for the initial loan, and a further €20m for the obligation to buy. The buy-option will be triggered once the 19-year-old plays a certain amount of games for Leipzig. Vermeeren only joined Atleti in January of this year for €18m.
Bayer Leverkusen also showed interest in bringing the midfielder to the Bundesliga but he was hesitant due to the quality of competition in the midfield.
On moving to the Red Bull Arena, Vermeeren said: “From now on I am a Red Bull and very happy about my move to RB Leipzig – to a club that has managed to become one of the top clubs in the UEFA Champions League and the Bundesliga in a very short space of time.”
The midfielder adds much-needed depth to Leipzig’s midfield. The injury to Xaver Schlager at the back end of last season means that the club lacks defensive midfielders away from Nicolas Seiwald. While the arrival of Veermeren means he joins fellow countrymen Loïs Openda and Maarten Vandevoordt in Saxony.
Due to the lack of departures this summer, Leipzig has been relatively quiet in the transfer market. This summer has seen the arrivals of Antonio Nusa and Assan Ouedraogo permanently while Xavi Simons returned to the club on loan from PSG.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
