Borussia Dortmund midfielder Felix Nmecha has enjoyed an exceptional 18 months. Since leaving Wolfsburg in June 2023, he has made significant progress and developed into one of the best midfielders in the world, so it is hardly surprising that there has been speculation for months about where he might continue his career. Interest from England was reported, with Manchester United most frequently linked with him. There was even talk that the transfer fee could exceed 100 million euros. However, Bild recently revealed that the Germany international has a release clause of 80 million euros in his contract.
Interestingly, interested clubs can activate the clause until the end of June 2027 at the latest. If that deadline passes, Borussia will be free to negotiate the price during July and August, and the club is not expected to accept a fee below the aforementioned 100 million euros. It is important to note that the release clause does not apply during the winter months for the duration of his contract with the German club, which runs until 2030. As for the June 2028 transfer, if Nmecha is still at Westfalenstadion by then — which is highly unlikely — the agreement stipulates that his release clause will drop to 70 million euros. And Jorg Weiler, Bild’s chief correspondent covering Dortmund, leaves little room for doubt about the future of the club’s most sought-after player at present. In fact, he is convinced that a transfer is imminent. The fact that his contract contains a release clause makes things easier: the interested club essentially has nothing to negotiate with Borussia. It simply needs to reach an agreement with the player. Weiler claims that it essentially comes down to sending an email informing Dortmund that the clause has been activated, and the entire process takes just a few minutes, after which the transfer is practically complete.
As a reminder, the Nmecha brothers (the older one is 27-year-old Lukas) came through Manchester City’s entire youth academy system. Both spent more than 10 years at the club. Their story is particularly interesting. Younger brother Felix developed considerably more slowly, and nobody believed he would make it at the highest level. He joined Wolfsburg in 2021 largely because of his older brother. Wolfsburg wanted Lukas and paid 8 million euros for him, then picked up Felix almost as an afterthought, as a sort of “trailer”, because that was Lukas’s condition for signing. Nobody expected anything from the youngster. He was 20 years old and had played barely 70 minutes of senior football. During his first season, he was given opportunities only in dribs and drabs, starting just once. Then, from October 2022 onwards, everything changed dramatically for both brothers. Lukas suffered an injury and was sidelined for a long time, while Felix became a regular and began to flourish. The best indication of the level of his performances is that Borussia identified him as the ideal replacement for Jude Bellingham and signed him for 30 million euros. Now, it seems, they are going to make a substantial profit on him as well.
BUNDESLIGA – MATCHDAY 8
Friday
22.30: (2.90) Elversberg (3.90) Mainz (2.20)
Saturday
17.30: (2.90) Augsburg (3.90) Freiburg (2.20)
17.30: (1.80) Bayer Leverkusen (4.40) Stuttgart (3.60)
17.30: (3.70) Schalke (4.20) RB Leipzig (1.82)
17.30: (2.70) Werder (3.80) Hoffenheim (2.35)
20.30: (1.35) Bayern Munich (5.40) Borussia Dortmund (7.25)
Sunday
17.30: (2.60) Union Berlin (3.60) Koln (2.55)
19.30: (1.62) Eintracht Frankfurt (4.40) Hamburger (4.70)
***odds are subject to change***
