It may not quite have broken the outright transfer record for an Under-19 player from or to the Bundesliga, but Bayer Leverkusen have still pulled off a superb deal with Kerim Alajbegovic.
For a fee of at least 30 million euros, plus two million euros in fees and up to five million euros in potential bonuses, the Bundesliga club have sold the 18-year-old Bosnia World Cup participant, four matches, one goal, to Juventus in Serie A.
That makes Alajbegovic the most expensive Under-19 player ever sold out of the Bundesliga. The most expensive arrival remains Renato Sanches, for whom Bayern Munich paid Benfica 35 million euros in 2016.
What really takes it to another level, though, is this: Alajbegovic has not played a single competitive game for Bayer Leverkusen. Leverkusen had already sold the left winger last summer, for two million euros to Red Bull Salzburg in Austria, but kept an eight-million-euro buy-back option.
The Werkself triggered that clause after Alajbegovic overcame early difficulties and did enough to impress in Salzburg, 44 matches in all competitions, 13 goals and four assists, only to sell the Cologne and Leverkusen academy product on to Italy.
Who else bid for Kerim Alajbegovic?
Juventus are not even believed to have made the biggest offer. That is said to have come from Chelsea, who reportedly put as much as 40 million euros on the table for the left winger with his outstanding shooting technique. But Juve are said to have offered him a place in the starting XI straight away, so the player chose Italy over the Premier League and former Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso.
Getty ImagesWhy did Leverkusen not keep Kerim Alajbegovic?
The question, then, is why Leverkusen sold the attacking player at all if they were so convinced by his quality. “After his time with us in the youth set-up, Kerim has taken big steps again recently in Salzburg. At the same time, we had to realistically assess that the competition for places in our squad, especially in his preferred positions, is very strong. Against that background and with an eye on the overall package of the transfer, we agreed to the move to Italy,” says sporting managing director Simon Rolfes.
In reality, Alajbegovic, who can also play on the right wing and in attacking midfield, would have had to compete at Bayern with new signing Afonso Bastardo Moreira, for 29.5 million euros from Olympique Lyon, among others, or Eliesse Ben-Seghir (21). Midfielders Malik Tillman and Ibrahim Maza would also have been rivals.