Already too many missteps! German talent takes huge transfer risk | OneFootball

Wolfsburg put at least five million euros on the table for Muhammed Damar. That makes him the second-most expensive signing of the relegated club and, of course, someone expected to play a key role. At first glance, that doesn’t sound like much, but for both sides it could be the biggest risk they have taken this summer — or even in their careers.

The reason: throughout his career so far, the 22-year-old talent has often made the wrong choice when it came to transfers or new contracts. Too often, otherwise more people would probably already have his name on their radar.

Damar, who was regarded early on as an attacking player with enormous potential, began his career at three Berlin clubs. He was developed there before ending up at TSG Hoffenheim at the age of 18.

Shortly after that, the run of rather poor club choices began. After one year with the Sinsheim side, he moved on loan to Hannover 96 in the 2. Bundesliga in 2023 to gain playing time.

Fiasco at Hannover 96

That went completely wrong. Shortly after his arrival, coach Stefan Leitl ruthlessly cast him aside. Instead of being on the pitch — or at least on the bench in second-division stadiums — he was sent to the second team.

Regionalliga instead of the professional game. That was probably not how Damar had imagined it. In the U23s, he did record 12 goal involvements, won the title, and later said that his time in Lower Saxony helped him grow as a person, but it can hardly have done much for his career.

Things went better at his next loan spell in Elversberg, where he managed nine goals in 34 games. But when he returned to his parent club hoping to finally get Bundesliga minutes, he was way off again.

That was mainly down to his biggest positional rival: Andrej Kramarić.

He was already 34 at the time, but even after Damar’s return last season, he had no intention of stopping and just kept banging them in.

Experience was always preferred over talent. Damar made only 15 appearances, mostly just for a few minutes right at the very end. So once again, no real playing time.

Forever in his rival’s shadow

Why he extended his contract in Sinsheim by two more years at the end of May 2025, even though Kramarić had also renewed just a few weeks earlier, remains unclear and only adds to the string of rather questionable decisions in his career so far.

There is really no doubt that Damar has talent. He went through every German youth national team up to the U21s. Last year, reports circulated that the German player with Turkish roots was being courted by the Turkish federation and tempted with a World Cup appearance. That did not happen, but Damar is definitely on the radar and now has to hope he does not fall off it. His career has reached a crossroads if he still wants to break into the highest levels.

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There is every chance that the move to VfL Wolfsburg will finally bring him his breakthrough at professional level. The Lower Saxony side go into the league as favorites, and if all goes well, he could play a central role in that. The club’s bosses clearly seem to see huge potential in him — otherwise they probably would not have put five million euros on the table for him.

A knife-edge gamble

But it is also a bold decision, because the Wolves’ situation is extremely fragile. After relegation, immediate promotion is a must. If the first few games go badly, alarm bells will start ringing right away. After all, expectations are crystal clear: with this squad, the Wolves are supposed to blow the league away and ideally have promotion all but wrapped up by the winter break.

How quickly the mood can turn when those expectations are not met is something VfL could learn about in Hamburg, for example.

The pressure on Damar, given both the transfer fee and the sporting situation in Wolfsburg, is immense. Both sides depend on this expensive signing delivering. So the 22-year-old probably will not be able to play with the same freedom he had in Elversberg.

So it remains to be seen whether this transfer will prove to be the first truly good decision of Muhammed Damar’s career, putting him on every football observer’s radar within a few weeks, or whether in the end we will conclude that the risk did not pay off for either side.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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