The Mainzer Allgemeine Zeitung reports that Mainz 05 are among two German clubs interested in bringing Austrian defender Stefan Posch back to the Bundesliga. The 49-times-capped Austrian international came close to moving to newly promoted Bundesliga outfit Hamburger SV this summer before HSV management failed to get the deal over the line.
Fabrizio Romano also links Posch with a move to 1. FC Köln, going so far as to suggest that die Geißböcke have held initial talks with the 28-year-old and his current Serie A parent club FC Bologna. Köln remain desperate for solutions in their central defensive corps following a wave of injuries, to the point that Kölner head coach Lukas Kwasniok is relying on players he looked to offload to start.
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Will Stefan Posch move to either Köln or Mainz?
As much sense as such a move would make, it remains common knowledge that Posch’s salary and Bologna’s transfer fee demands prevented Hamburg from sealing the deal this past summer. Mainz find themselves significantly constrained financially and are more likely to pick up Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Marvin Friedrich as a low cost alternative.
Köln, on the other hand, have more liquidity available thanks to the savings incurred over the course of their two-year-transfer ban. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the cathedral city club can afford a major splurge for the €5.5m-valued defender. Moreover, Bologna must also first terminate Posch’s loan to Como 1907 in order to facilitate a sale.
Bundesliga reporters have become accustomed to Posch transfer rumors essentially since the defender finally departed Hoffenheim permanently in January 2023. Posch’s mercurial form swings do render him a risk. One senses that – after plenty of chatter – Posch probably will be remaining put in Italy.