‘I have no ambitions to leave’ – Eric Martel on his 1. FC Köln future | OneFootball

Despite interest from Fiorentina, Eric Martel (23) has no intention of leaving 1. FC Köln this summer.

“As of now, I have no ambitions to leave,” said Martel, via Kicker. The 23-year-old German youth international has 12 months remaining on his current deal and while it’s well known that the Billy Goats would like to extend the player’s contract beyond 2026, Martel will wait before making a decision.

“But for now, I’ve said that I want to wait for the first half of the season. I want to see how things develop here,” added Martel. This comes after a high turnover of players at Köln. Max Finkgräfe and Damion Downs have left for Southampton and RB Leipzig for a combined €12m, while Tim Lemperle and Dejan Ljubicic have left the clubs on free transfers.

Die Geißböcke have also been busy in the market with the arrivals of Ísak Jóhannesson (€5.5m), Ragnar Ache (€4.5m), Sebastian Sebulonsen (€2.5m), Tom Krauß (Loan) and Jakub Kaminski (Loan), with Thomas Kessler and Köln’s recruitment team working on further arrivals.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder