RB Leipzig Signs Loïs Openda In Club-Record Transfer Deal
Loïs Openda became the most expensive signing in RB Leipzig’s history when the club announced him as a new signing on Friday. According to Fabrizio Romano, the club agreed to sign the 23-year-old Belgian for a €38 million ($42.74 million) fee from French club RC Lens.
Openda has signed a five-year contract with the club. He will wear the jersey number 17 next year.
Loïs Openda will be the most expensive signing in RB Leipzig history ⚪️
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 12, 2023
◉ €38m guaranteed fee to RC Lens plus add-ons.
◉ Contract valid until June 2028, five year deal.
◉ Medical tests already booked in the next days.
Record signing and top deal. ✨
Here we go ✔️ pic.twitter.com/bdC9PFQ9oY
Before playing for Lens last season, Openda also played for Club Brugge in Belgium and Vitesse in the Netherlands. He has also earned 9 caps for Belgium, including one appearance during the 2022 World Cup.
For those who are unfamiliar with Openda, he had a breakout season last year with Lens. He tied with American Folarin Balogun as the fourth leading goalscorer in Ligue 1, scoring 21 goals. Kylian Mbappé, Alexander Lacazette and Canadian International Jonathan David were the only players to score more goals.
Openda’s goal-scoring contributions helped guide Lens to a second-place finish in Ligue 1 last year. Lens finished just one point off of PSG in the final standing, finishing with 84 points while PSG finished with 85. This second-place finish qualified Lens for next year’s Champions League group stage.
While Openda can play on the wing, he is best utilized as a central forward. He likes to go to the ball rather than waiting for the action to come to him, meaning he is willing to drop into the midfield. Then, he can either turn with the ball or bring one of his teammates into the attack.
His best attribute right now is his finishing. He can finish confidently with either foot and his head, making him difficult to deal with for defenders. He is also really speedy and is an incredibly gifted dribbler, which is why he is versatile enough to play on the wing. Openda has no problem dribbling through the midfield or past a defender to create a chance for himself, and this combined with his finishing ability makes him a very deadly attacker.
Loïs Openda is a good signing for Leipzig who lost already lost attacking threats Dominik Szoboszlai and Christopher Nkunku to the Premier League this summer. He will join Benjamin Šeško from RB Salzburg and Fábio Carvalho on loan from Liverpool in a new-look RB Leipzig attack next year.
CHECK OUT all confirmed transfers in our Weekly Transfer Update!
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