Who is the prospect Frankfurt paid the highest transfer fee ever?...Did you trust Boo? Take a chance on the striker who fell from the peak

Jan 25, 2025

Paris Saint-Germain's French forward #29 Bradley Barcola (L) fights for the ball with Marseille's French forward #09 Elye Wahi during the French L1 football match between Olympique de Marseille (OM) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the Velodrome Stadium in Marseille, southeastern France, on October 27, 2024. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)

Frankfurt, Germany, where many Korean players have passed, has a promising player who has invested the highest amount in the club's history.

The 22-year-old prospect striker is Elihe Wahi (22).

According to local media on the 25th (Korea time), Frankfurt paid 22 million euros (about 33 billion won) in transfer fees when it recruited Eliehe Wahi, who played for Marseille. This amount is known to be the highest in Frankfurt's history.

Wahi was receiving love calls from the English Premier League's top teams. However, Frankfurt, which sent striker Omar Marmushi to Manchester City in the new year, actively sought to strengthen the gap and succeeded in recruiting Wahi.

epa11687988 Vitinha (L) of PSG in action against Elye Wahi of Marseille during the Ligue 1 soccer match between Olympique Marseille and Paris Saint Germain, in Marseille, Southern France, 27 October 2024. EPA/Guillaume Horcajuelo<저작권자(c) Yonhap News, 무단 전재-재배포, AI 학습 및 활용 금지>

The Frankfurt club said "We've been paying attention to Wahi for a long time. I'm glad Wahi got to play together in Frankfurt. He is expected to be a player with excellent tempo skills and a sharp sense of goal"Welcome.

A former member of the French youth national team, he made his debut in the French first division in the 2020-2021 season through Montpellier's HSC youth team, and scored 10 league goals in his first full-time appearance since being promoted to the first team.

In the 2022-2023 season, he scored 19 league goals, almost double his previous performance, including a port trick (four goals) for the first time in his career in the 34th round against Olympique Lyon.

Marseille's French forward #09 Elye Wahi controls the ball during the French L1 football match between Olympique de Marseille (OM) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the Velodrome Stadium in Marseille, southeastern France, on October 27, 2024. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)<저작권자(c) Yonhap News, Unauthorized reproduction-Redistribution, prohibition of AI learning and utilization>

Since then, there have been love calls from prestigious clubs. Arsenal, Chelsea, and Atletico Madrid tried to contact each other. In the summer of 2023, when the Wahi recruitment battle was heated, Chelsea offered 30 million euros, but Wahi's ransom was so high that there were reports that the negotiations were broken because Montpellier wanted 40 million euros.

Afterwards, he moved to RC Lance for 35 million euros in August of that year after going through labor, such as a failure in the final stage of the transfer to West Ham. The 35 million euros paid by Lance at the time was also the club's highest transfer fee ever.

However, Wahi showed a significant drop in performance in his first season in Lance with 36 games and 12 goals compared to the previous season, and moved to Marseille after a year without completing the five-year contract.

Wahi's fall also followed in Marseille. After being pushed to the bench for the 2024-2025 season, he only scored three goals and one assist in seven starts in 13 games until the first half of the season. In the end, he changed to a Frankfurt uniform after half a season.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.

Who is the prospect Frankfurt paid the highest transfer fee ever?...Did you trust Boo? Take a chance on the striker who fell from the peak

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