Schalke 04 set to bring Leeds defender Maximilian Wöber back to the Bundesliga | OneFootball

Sport Bild reports that Schalke 04 are on the verge of signing Leeds United defender Maximilian Wöber. The 28-year-old will head to the Bundesliga on a permanent basis and, per the tabloid, sign a two-year-contract with die Königsblauen. Wöber expressed great enthusiasm for German football ahead of last season, but was unable to make an impact during a loan stint with Werder Bremen. He missed practically the entire campaign with injury.

Maximilian Wöber’s Bundesliga journey

Wöber first arrived in German football when Borussia Mönchengladbach loaned him from Leeds United for the 2023/24 campaign. The versatile Austrian international made 25 Bundesliga appearances and scored twice while working both centrally and at left-back. Gladbach were interested in retaining him, but Leeds’ reported €10-12m asking price rendered a permanent transfer unrealistic.

After an injury-riddled season back in England, Wöber joined Werder Bremen on another loan in July 2025. The one-time €12m signing enthusiastically described Germany as “paradise for a footballer” and hoped to revive his career alongside Austrian internationals Marco Friedl, Marco Grüll, and Romano Schmid.

Those plans were immediately derailed. Wöber suffered a thigh injury during Bremen’s opening-round DFB-Pokal defeat to Arminia Bielefeld and remained sidelined for virtually the entire campaign. As noted in a Get German Football Newstransfer primer, rotten injury luck prevented the defender from playing any meaningful role for the Hanseaten. Bremen ultimately declined to sign him permanently.

A move to newly promoted Schalke would now make the Royal Blues Wöber’s third Bundesliga club. The 28-year-old arrives with plenty of top-flight experience, but also something to prove following two injury-plagued years.

GGFN | Peter Weis