In this year's winter transfer window, the biggest transfer so far is probably Malmush's move to Manchester City. According to media reports, the transfer fee is a fixed 75 million euros plus 5 million euros in variables, potentially reaching a maximum of 80 million euros.
Eintracht Frankfurt has made significant profits in recent seasons through player sales. Just from the sales of free signings like Mouani and Malmush, they have achieved a net income of 170 million euros. It must be said that Frankfurt's scouting system is indeed impressive, always managing to find cost-effective forwards.
Now that Malmush has left, Frankfurt is once again on the hunt for their next star striker, with their main target currently being Marseille's forward Wahid.
Wahid was born on January 2, 2003, holding dual French and Ivorian nationalities. He started his career at Montpellier's training camp in Ligue 1 and joined the first team in the 2020-21 season.
The young Wahid quickly became Montpellier's starting forward. In the 2022-23 season, at less than 20 years old, he had an outstanding season, starting 28 times in 32 Ligue 1 matches, scoring 19 goals and providing 5 assists, performing exceptionally well.
Wahid was also the starting forward for various levels of the French youth teams, scoring 2 goals in the U19 European Championship in 2022.
His outstanding performances at both the club and national youth levels made Wahid a rising star in French football. In the summer of 2023, Lens signed Wahid for 30 million euros, at which point his market value reached a high of 40 million euros.
In the 2023-24 season, Wahid played 36 times for Lens, scoring 12 goals and assisting 4 times, including 2 goals in the Champions League. However, overall, Wahid's performance did not meet Lens' expectations, and in the summer of 2024, he transferred to Marseille for 25 million euros.
This season, under De Zerbi's leadership at Marseille, who focuses on possession and control, Wahid has not had many opportunities. This season, he has played 14 times in all competitions, starting 7 times, scoring 3 goals and assisting 1 time, serving as a rotational player at Marseille.
From a technical standpoint, Wahid possesses good speed and explosiveness, but his physical strength in confrontations is average. As a right-footed player, he has some technical ability with the ball at his feet. His greatest feature is his skill at making runs without the ball and interweaving, with accurate finishing, mainly playing as a center forward or shadow striker. In his best season, the 2022-23 campaign, he was the central forward in Montpellier's 4-2-3-1 formation.
Wahid's contract with Marseille expires in June 2029, and his current market value is 25 million euros. Not long ago, the famous journalist Skira revealed that due to not being a regular starter at Marseille, Wahid is interested in leaving during the winter window, with Arsenal and West Ham United expressing interest in loaning him.
However, following Malmush's departure, Frankfurt urgently needs to find a starting forward to partner with Ekitike, especially since Frankfurt is currently third in the Bundesliga and wants to secure qualification for next season's Champions League.
German Sky Sports reported that Frankfurt is in talks with Marseille, believing Wahid is the ideal replacement for Malmush. Due to Wahid's young age, Marseille has no plans to sell him. If they were to sell, Marseille would require no less than the initial 25 million euros transfer fee they paid, plus additional variable amounts. Additionally, Kjeldsen, the forward from Danish team Brondby, is also one of their targets.
Given Wahid's previous successful experience at Montpellier and Frankfurt's reputation as a striker development camp, perhaps after a season of training, Wahid can regain his form in the Bundesliga, perform at a high level, and then be sold for a high price!