Bundesliga 2: The Most Lucrative Sales

The lower divisions of German football are renowned for their exceptional ability to develop talented players.

The Bundesliga 2 has always been an exciting league to follow, known for its combination of underdog teams, passionate fanbases, and thrilling promotion battles. One of the league’s key strengths is its ability to develop and sell young talent for profit. Today, we’ll outline three instances from this summer where a Bundesliga 2 team has earned significant money from the sale of a promising young player.

3. Fürth – Armindo Sieb

Sieb is a 21-year-old striker who has recently transferred from Greuther Fürth to Bayern Munich, for a fee of €1.5m. The German underage international originally came through the Bayern youth setup, but he was sold to Fürth in the summer of 2022 for €50,000. Since then, Sieb has made 66 appearances for the second-tier side, scoring a total of 17 goals during that time.

Fürth had a largely disappointing campaign last year, failing in their task to get promoted back to the Bundesliga. Fürth concluded the term in 8th and perhaps would have finished lower if it wasn’t for Sieb. The young forward netted 12 times last season, which amounts to 24% of the goals Fürth scored across the entirety of the season.

Fürth did complete some good business here, though, as they bought Sieb from Bayern for €50,000 and two years later sold him to the same club for €1.45m more.

Sieb will be on loan at Mainz for the season in 24/25, so here’s hoping he’ll fulfill his potential and one day become a regular for Bayern Munich.

2. Bright Arrey-Mbi

Arrey-Mbi is the most interesting of the lot for me. The Senegalese defender has switched to Braga from Hannover this summer for an outstanding fee of €6.25 million, after only spending a year contracted to Die Roten.

Mbi, another player who came through the youth setup at Bayern, featured in 34 matches for their B team while with the club, competing in the third tier of German football. During the 21/22 season, he went on loan to Koln, but the move was not successful, leading him to make a temporary switch to Hannover in the following season.

After a fairly successful year in the second tier, Arrey-Mbi made the permanent switch to Hannover. The defender’s second season at the club certainly caught the eye of Portuguese side Braga, as they splashed €6.25m on the 21-year-old.

After picking Arrey Mbi up for free, Hannover made a pure profit on this one, gaining a massive €6.25 million. Once again, it’s a very good bit of business from a second-tier side.

1. Assan Ouédraogo

Assan Ouédraogo was part of Schalke’s squad for the 2023/24 season. He made his professional debut as a 17-year-old in 2023 against Hamburger SV. In that match, he scored and assisted, putting his name on the wonderkid map.

The midfielder was out for several months due to injury last year, but still played 17 games in the second division, scoring three goals and providing two assists. Ouédraogo’s form caught the eye of RB Leipzig, which led to the Red Bulls acquiring the talent for €10m.

Ouédrago was only a year playing for Schalke, and he spent most of it injured. However, the teenager certainly was a bright spark in a dull season for Blues. Their fortunes may turn around because of the sale of Ouédrago, as €10m can get you a lot at that level.

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In the lower tiers of German football, there is an abundance of untapped talent waiting to be discovered. Could your team be the next to unearth a true hidden gem?