Bundesliga January 2026 Transfer Primers | Werder Bremen

The next of our 18 Bundesliga transfer primers to be published here on Get German Football News takes a look at Werder Bremen. These Hanseaten appear to be a stable, mid-table side. Such an assessment has much to do with the fact that Werder pulled themselves out of an early-season-crisis and overcame a brutal run of opening fixtures to pick up a few points here and there against some weaker sides. Most will consider them safe. 

Closer inspection nevertheless reveals plenty of cause for concern. Horst Steffen’s team head into the winter break winless in four and without a truly convincing performance since they beat up on hapless Gladbach on matchday three. Much is wrong with this outfit. With Hoffenheim and Dortmund awaiting before the Hin-runde concludes (and the “brutal run of fixtures” set to repeat as the Rück-Runde commences), things can get ugly quick in 2026.

One fears a total nosedive akin to the horrible run of form experienced after the turn of the 2025 calendar year. Ole Werner’s team lost seven of their ten initial 2025 league fixtures and lost five straight on-the-spin during the stretch that also saw them get knocked out of the Pokal by Arminia Bielefeld; the same club that eliminated them this year. Werder’s “stability” remains quite precarious. 

One hopes Felix Agu and Mitchell Weiser can make it back soon.

Werder Bremen

There’s both credit and caveats here:

Winter Predictions Check, Werder Bremen

Predicted Table Position – 18th place

Actual Table Position – 10th place, 17 points

(4-W, 5-D, 6-L)

(-10 G-Diff)

In addition to the above mentioned bashing of a Gladbach side in transition, Steffen’s side eked out very narrow wins against Union Berlin, St. Pauli, and Wolfsburg. None of the three-pointers inspired much confidence, as those associated with the team were often quick to admit. The minus-ten goal differential is worse than the four teams separating Werder from 15th-place relegation dwellers Augsburg. A total of 18 league goals scored through the 15 matchdays also constitutes a red flag. 

Autumn Transfer Assessment, Werder Bremen

Estimated Summer Transfer Balance = –€1.5m

Financial constraints severely limited what Clemens Fritz and Peter Niemeyer were able to do this offseason. Werder have received an influx of cash from an investment group, but a lot of that money was tied up in contract extensions, infrastructure investments such as a new practice facility, and a few stadium renovations. The administrative team proudly leveraged themselves on the transfer front this summer with the Samuel Mbangula purchase. The Belgian has hardly been a flop, but certainly hasn’t been a total “game-changer”.

One can essentially say the same about late-procured loanees Isaac Schmidt and Cameron Puertas. Neither one secured a regular place under Steffen. Schmidt picked up an assist in the dramatic late draw against Bayer Leverkusen on matchday two, yet hasn’t recorded a scorer-point since. Puertas hasn’t gotten his name on the scoresheet yet and consistently looked poor as a starter. Rotten luck led to the über-enthusiastic Maximilian Wöber being completely sidelined with injury this entire time. 

In the lone piece of unequivocal good news, Yukinari Sugawara’s enthusiasm successfully translated to consistency solid play. The Southampton loanee turned out to be an awesome addition. One can naturally say the same about back-up keeper and Arsenal loanee Karl Hein, but the fact that the squad possesses a solid No. 2 net-minder doesn’t count as something of great relevance. Having covered the two bright spots, we have to get to the train-wreck that is Bayer 04 Leverkusen loanee Victor Boniface next.

Sigh. This gets painful. When it comes to Boniface, one simply must lament this club’s consistently horrible luck. What is it about Bremen taking promising Bundesliga strikers on loan that always invariable leads to disaster? André Silva. Rafael Santos Borré. Now Boniface. Though he isn’t a striker, we might as well through the Naby Keïta case into the mix here as well. Why does nothing ever work up north? There likely isn’t a connection with respect to all these players. It’s just a matter of cruel coincidence. 

Dead Weight Ledger and Expiring Contracts, Werder Bremen

Tons of dead weight needs to be shed off this 31-man-roster. Fritz and Niemeyer must earn their respective paychecks by locating takers for the likes of Olivier Deman, Julian Malatini, Niklas Stark, and Skelly Alvero. Each player should at least generate around €2m in revenue. At the very least, some six-figure loan fees are in order if the front office duo can find a place to park portions of the quartet. Isak Hansen-Aarøen might also fetch a six-figure transfer fee from one of the Scandinavian clubs up further north.

Dead-Weight Ledger = Stefan Smarkalev (GK), Olivier Deman (LB), Julian Malatini (CB), Niklas Stark (CB), Skelly Alvero (DM), Patrice Covic (ATTM), Isak Hansen-Aarøen (ATTM), Keke Topp (CF) Victor Boniface (LS)

Promising prospect Patrice Covic definitely needs to be parked elsewhere. The matter of young striker Keke Topp gets interesting as there’s been reported interest from several other Bundesliga clubs. It seems as if – so long as the 21-year-old can’t break his 2025/26 season duck here – Bremen might as well loan him out elsewhere and collect some fees for the time being. Marco Grüll, Justin Njinmah, and whichever striker can be procured during the January window will have to do. That is, if the club can manage to attract another striker at all.

The one player on a confirmed expiring contract has already officially confirmed that he’ll be leaving at the end of the season. Bundesliga lovers everywhere experience a sentimental twinge at the news that Leonardo Bittencourt shall be departing the German top flight. The 32-year-old furnished us with so many memories over the years. Bittencourt often served as the only truly bright light on this team, including and most especially during those horribly dark Florian Kohfeldt years preceding the 2021 relegation.

Bittencourt joins fellow former Werder Bremen heroes Anthony Jung and Milos Veljokovic in finally declaring his SV chapter over. Jung – via Freiburg – at least got a chance to continue his career in the German top flight. It doesn’t look like Bittencourt is headed to another Bundesliga club either this January or after the season. There’s still some very bright news to report, however, in that his old academy side Energie Cottbus appears happy to take him on for the last few years. 

Expiring contracts =  Leonardo Bittencourt (CM)

Further Needs and Rumored Links, Werder Bremen

Bremen’s recent history (coincidental as it may be) means that they (fairly or not) will have great difficulty convening a striker to join up with them. The rumor mills remain largely quiet apart from some players more closely linked with other clubs. Every last name listed below appears headed to a different destination. Perhaps Fritz and Niemeyer – as they, to their credit, did late last autumn – can pull off some more surprises here. Hopefully, they’ll operate at a quicker pace here. 

Further Needs = LB, CB, LW, RW, SS, LS

Rumored Links =  Faik Sakar (ATTM), Silas (RW), Julien Duranville (LW), Younes Ebnoutalib (CF), Taiwo Awoniyi (CF)

GGFN | Peter Weis