Revealed: Former Arsenal target has €80m release clause
Cameron Smith
- 2 Oct 2023 12:53 CDT
- 3 min read
Former Arsenal target Lois Openda has a release clause in his RB Leipzig contract in the region of €80 million, according to reports in Germany.
The Belgian forward joined the Bundesliga side from RC Lens for €38.5m this summer, with Leipzig fighting off competition from Arsenal to land the 23-year-old.
As a result, he is the club’s most expensive signing in history, with the Leipzig hierarchy convinced to make Openda their record arrival after he netted 21 Ligue 1 goals last season.
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Openda has scored four goals and provided two assists in six Bundesliga appearances so far this campaign, as Leipzig sit fifth in the German top flight.
While Openda has a release clause worth roughly €80m, as per Sky Germany, it can only be activated in 2025.
The 23-year-old has 11 international caps and two goals for Belgium after making his debut in 2022. He has not yet been able to displace Romelu Lukaku as his nation’s first choice striker, however.
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Openda’s rapid rise has coincided with a huge increase to his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV). The Belgian’s ETV stood at a lowly €7.6m when he joined Lens in 2022, but that figure is now at €41.4m.
He was linked with a move to Arsenal earlier in 2023, but the Gunners eventually decided against making a move. The Gunners were keeping tabs on Openda in April, according to Fichajes, while Mundo Deportivo reported that Leicester made a concrete move for the player before they suffered relegation to the Championship.
Leipzig’s summer business
Openda was one of 10 players to join Leipzig this summer, eight of whom arrived on permanent deals.
In addition to landing the Lens man, Leipzig also signed Castellu Lukeba (€30m), Christoph Baumgartner (€24m), Benjamin Sesko (€24m), Nicolas Seiwald (€20m), El Chadaille Bitshiabu (€15m), Christopher Lenz (€1m), Leopold Zingerle (free), Xavi Simons (loan) and Fabio Carvalho (loan).
