VfL Wolfsburg have always been big spenders. Despite battling against relegation and scraping out of the playoff in the last two seasons, their determination to buy themselves out of trouble hasn't changed. Here we look at three of their summer signings, which has seen Die Wölfe shell out over 20 million Euro.
Daniel Ginczek (VfB Stuttgart, €14m)
According to transfermarkt.de, striker Daniel Ginczek has a market value of 3.5 million Euro. Yet, Wolfsburg have paid four times that to snare the player from VfB Stuttgart. Sound business, or another case of good money thrown after bad?
A former German Under-21 international, the 27 year old certainly played his part for Stuttgart. He played in part as the Swabians earned promotion in 2016/17, and then scored 7 goals in 23 outings in 2017/18.
Ginczek's strike rate of a goal in every third match is not bad, but it is not exactly world beating. For 14 million Euro, you would hope to get more bang for your buck. Woefully short of firepower last season, Bruno Labbadia's Wolves will be hoping for their biggest summer signing to improve on those statistics.
Wout Weghorst (AZ Alkmaar, €10.5m)
Wolfsburg scored just 36 goals in their 34 Bundesliga matches in 2017/18, and it is clear that this was the driver behind the club's summer transfer strategy. In additional to Daniel Ginczek, Labbadia's side have also snapped up another striker in Dutchman Wout Weghorst.
With a strike rate of a goal every other game for the Dutch cup runners-up AZ Alkmaar, the 25 year old Weghorst will need to step up to match that rate in the Bundesliga, but certainly has the potential. At 6' 6" tall, he is a towering presence in the penalty area.
His price tag of ten million Euro may be a little on the steep side, but Weghorst's career is definitely on the up. After his form in the Eredivisie attracted the attention of Dutch national team coach Ronald Koeman, Weghorst has played three times for the Oranje, making his debut at the end of last season.
Marcel Tisserand (FC Ingolstadt 04, €7m)
French-born Congolese international Marcel Tisserand is not a new face, having joined Wolfsburg on loan last season from relegated FC Ingolstadt 04. After impressing at the Volkswagen Arena, the product of the youth system at AS Monaco has made the move permanent for seven million Euro.
A tall central defender, the 25 year old was brought to Wolfsburg to fill in for the injured John Anthony Brooks. He quickly established himself in Labbadia's starting lineup, but he too was injured during the second half of last season.
Having seemingly recovered from a torn hamstring at the start of 2018, Tisserand made a comeback at the end of April, only to break down again after just two matches. As things currently stand, he is still injured.
For more Bundesliga fun stuff, check out my Little Bundesliga Book project. Copies of the 2016 pocket book are still available, with the aim of raising funds for a new edition at the end of this season.
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