Hamburger SV defender Jonathan Tah has finally completed his much-anticipated move to Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday.
The Germany under-19 skipper has signed a massive five-year deal with die Werkself and while no transfer fee has been officially mentioned, kicker speculate that it is in the region of €6m. HSV are set to reinvest that money in Albin Ekdal and Michael Gregoritsch, as they look to avoid another relegation-threatened season.
Working his way up the football ladder
Tah has already made 16 appearances for the Northerners in the Bundesliga and spent last season on loan with Fortuna Düsseldorf. He looked every bit a future star with the Westphalians, though a few niggling injuries prevented him from playing in more than the 23 games he featured in.
After being handed the number four shirt, Tah said that he is "happy to be here". He declared Leverkusen as "a brilliant club" and believes he "can move up to next level" at the BayArena. Tah is looking to "settle in really quickly", and his friendship with some of the current players will only speed up that process.
Could Tah fit straight into the first team?
Breaking into the first team may be easier than first thought for the 19-year-old. Kyriakos Papadopoulos is still suffering from a shoulder injury and hasn't been able to get his fitness up to a high level, due to that continuing problem. Ömer Toprak will certainly start, though that leaves Tah to battle with fellow talented teen Tin Jedvaj for a place beside the Turk.
Rudi Völler, who was also speaking to the club website, called Tah an "extremely talented central defender" and was "a key member of the team" with Fortuna Düsseldorf. Völler sees Tah as "a great investment in the future" but suggest he "has the quality to help us straight away". The Leverkusen sporting director also admitted they had to beat off plenty of competition to secure his signature.
Tah is only the fourth summer signing Leverkusen have made. Along with Papadopoulos, Admir Mehmedi and André Ramalho have also joined the club. However, the returns of Christoph Kramer and Dominik Kohr on loan will further strengthen the centre of midfield.