Wöber before moving from Salzburg to England
ÖFB team player Maximilian Wöber is about to be transferred from football champions Red Bull Salzburg to Leeds United in the English Premier League. The 24-year-old defender will be assessed in England on Monday for a final medical check, according to APA information. Wöber moved from Sevilla FC to Salzburg in 2019 under Leeds coach Jesse Marsch. The fee, including bonus payments, should be in the range of EUR 20 million.
Wöber would be among the five most expensive Austrian players in history. The list is headed by Marko Arnautovic, who traded from Stoke City to West Ham for around €25m in 2017. Wöber only extended his contract in Salzburg in May until 2025. Leeds would be the third foreign stop for the ex-Rapidler after Ajax Amsterdam and Seville. The traditional club is in 14th place in the table after just one point from the last three league games.
Marsch is fishing for the next Salzburger
The American Marsch has already lured several players with a Salzburg past to Leeds: after ex-ÖFB national player Franz Schiemer for management and Rene Maric for the coaching team, the lucrative transfers of US offensive man Brenden Aaronson followed last summer for the Bulls – with a rumored EUR 33 million fee for the most expensive player in Bundesliga history – as well as Danish right-back Rasmus Kristensen (around EUR 13 million).
Three and a half years ago, Salzburg transferred 10.5 million euros to Seville for Wöber. In the autumn, the universally deployable defender was mainly used as a left-back. As a precaution, the series champion brought Malian Daouda Guindo back from a loan commitment from St. Gallen on Sunday for this position. In addition, in the central defender position, which Wöber can also occupy, there is a loan return of Jerome Onguene from Eintracht Frankfurt. The transfer window in Austria is open until February 6th.