In this post i will guide you through the transfers that i have done. I will try to explain why i bought the players that we’ve bought. I will also do the same with the players that have left Köln either permanently or on loan. After that i will show you my team for the first season and i will inform you if they have a future at the club or not.

Outgoing transfers

With a transfer budget nearly touching the eight million euro’s my transfer possibilities are limited at the start of the season. I knew something had to be done because the current squad is capable of winning the 2. Bundesliga but nowhere near 1. Bundesliga worthy. Thank god you can always count on Bayern Münich. They came in and swooped Jonas Hector away for 25 million euro’s. His transfer fee can even rise to 30 million euro’s depending on the bonuses we included in this deal. At first i was hesitant in accepting this deal as Hector was going to play a crucial part in my future plans for Köln. But the amount of money was just too high for us to refuse. Next to Hector leaving Köln we also managed to sell Marcel Risse, Simon Terodde and Simon Zoller. These three would’ve been nice 2. Bundesliga material but competing on a higher level would not be an option for them. They lack the skill and attributes to do so.

Incoming transfers

In order to strengthen my squad for the upcoming season i was very glad that our transferbudget has been risen to around 30 miliion euro’s. Our goal for this season is clear and i was hoping on getting a few players in who have 1. Bundesliga skill level. With money to spend and decent scouts at the club it was only a matter of time before we would find the right players for the right prices.

Gianluca Gaudino is a 21 year old German midfielder. He is a former Bayern Münich youth player and he has been active in Switzerland (Sankt Gallen) and Italy (Chievo Verona) since then. As he was transfer free it was very easy to make him an offer he couldn’t refuse. I was actually surprised when Gaudino signed for us because Leverkusen and Stuttgart also offered him a contract. For the next three seasons Gaudino is a 1. FC Köln player. Birger Meling is a 23 year old Norwegian multifunctional player. With teamwork (17), positioning (15) and work rate (18) he is an ideal player for the tactic i am going to use. Marcello Trotta is a well known player for myself. In a previous save with US Sassuolo he was a real goalscoring threat. When i saw he was on the transferlist i immediately made an offer. This 25 year old Italian striker has the abbility to play in the 1. Bundesliga so he is a welcome addition to the team. With Maximilian Wöber being our most expensive transfer during this window our expectations quickly rose a lot. Wöber is a former AFC Ajax player and he has the potential to grow into a world class defender. Grabbing him from Amsterdam for just over ten million euro’s is going to be a golden transfer. In a few seasons he will leave this club for a lot of money where in the meantime he is going to lead our backline to glory and success.

Iliass Bel Hassani is a 25 year old Dutch technical attacking midfielder who joined us from AZ. His transfer fee was just over one million euro’s so i guess he is going to be the transfer bargain of the season. Mimoun Mahi came over from FC Groningen for nearly three and a half million euro’s. This 25 year old Moroccan player can play in multiple positions. After selling Terodde and Zoller we needed an extra striker and Mahi coming in this cheap is going to be an excellent addition, just mark my words! Jannik Huth is a 24 year old goalkeeper who was transfer listed by his former club FSV Mainz 05. For under one million euro we’ve managed to sign him. He is going to be a very nice backup goalkeeper in case Timo Horn get’s injured or suspended. Huth will be playing in our cup games where Horn is going to play in the 2. Bundesliga matches. Gino Fechner is a signing done by Louis van Gaal. This 20 year old defensive midfielder was transfer listed by FC Kaiserslautern and according to our Director of Football this player would be a real addition to the team. We’ve payed nearly two million euro’s and via several bonuses this transfer fee can rise to nearly three million euro’s. I am very curious if and how Fechner will be performing during the upcoming season.

Players out on loan

I also had a few players at my disposal who i want to keep but they won’t get enough game time during the upcoming season. For them we sorted out nice loan deals with clubs who would grant them more then enough game time. Tomas Ostrak is a very talented midfielder. In my eyes he needed to go somewhere else to compete on a higher level than in our U19 or Köln II teams. At Energie Cottbus he is going to play in 3. Bundesliga for a season and i hope he is going to develop himself very good. Nikolas Nartey is a player who could’ve played in my first team. But as we managed to sign Gaudino i felt it was better if he went on loan. From his home country Denmark Aalborg BK offered us a nice deal. So during the upcoming season Nartey is playing for them but after that we welcome him back at Köln. Serhou Guirassy was another player that could’ve played in my first team. But after signing Trotta and Mahi i felt it was better if he developed himself at another club. At Reims he can play in the Ligue 1 and as they want him as a first team player i know he will get more then enough games. This will help him in his development and at the end of the season we also welcome him back at Köln. Last but not least we agreed on a six month loan deal for Jannes Horn. He was unhappy after we turned down a transfer offer from them. So once Wöber signed for us i decided to send Horn to Leverkusen for six months. Once that works out we can sell him and when the deal doesn’t work out he will rejoin our first team.

The team for the first season

In my next post i will show you the tactic that i have created for this save game. I can only hope that you have enjoyed reading this post. If anybody wants to see screenshots, then let me know and i will provide them. ‘Till next time …