Official | RB Leipzig conclude €24m Conrad Harder purchase | OneFootball

RB Leipzig have “beat the buzzer” so to speak in the case of transfer deadline day target Conrad Harder. The Danish striker will be moving to the Bundesliga on a permanent transfer from Sporting CP. Kicker reports that the German Red Bulls and the Portuguese outfit agreed upon a €24m transfer at the last possible moment.

Harder’s arrival serves as the final piece of Leipzig’s desired personnel “restart button” this summer. After missing out on European football for the first time since earning promotion to the German top flight, the Saxons have spent the summer re-tooling the attack.

Leading figures in the 2024/25 attack Benjamin Sesko, Xavi Simons, and Loïs Openda have all been dispensed with. While Sesko and Simons were sold to Premier League outfits, Openda was loaned out to Juventus on transfer deadline day.

Strikers Harder and Romulu are now meant to spearhead the attack, supported closely by promising new summer attacking additions Yan Diomande and Johan Bakayoko. Thus far, the “restart” has produced a cup win, one bad loss against Bayern, and one promising win over Heidenheim.

“With Conrad, we are gaining a striker who fits our profile perfectly,” RB sporting director Marcel Schäfer noted in a club statement. “He is tall, physically and mentally strong, assertive, and has pace to accompany his very dangerous left foot.“

“The Bundesliga is a top league where I can develop and prove myself,” Harder added in his own statement. “RB Leipzig stands for intense attacking football and that’s exactly what suits my game. I want to emulate the success of players such as Emil Forsberg and Yussuf Poulsen.“

GGFN | Peter Weis