Earlier this month it was revealed that Emil Forsberg’s time at RB Leipzig is about to end, as the Swede will join New York Red Bulls in the MLS in January. The German team was quick to react and has already secured the services of Napoli’s Eljif Elmas. The negotiations between both clubs did not take too long as they settled for a fee of €25 million, as exclusevily reported by Fabrizio Romano.
🇲🇰🤝🏻 Napoli president de Laurentiis confirms: “We have sold Elmas, it’s all done — he always wants to play so we decided to let him go”.
Leipzig deal, set to be completed 🔴⚪️ https://t.co/C5MzOhnIsc
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 22, 2023
Elmas will join his new side in January, when the transfer window in Europe opens, after spenting four and a half years in Italy. The North Macedonian international has played a total of 189 games for Napoli and has scored 19 goals and assisted for another 11. This season his statistics show 16 matches across all tournaments and 2 goals, but his appearances have come mainly from the bench, as Elmas has clocked up just 477 minutes of playing time in Serie A. Napoli bought him from Fenerbahce in the summer of 2019 for €16.20 million.
He will have the tough task of replacing one of the fan favourites in Leipzig. Emil Forsberg featured 325 times in all tournaments for RB Leipzig, with a return of 71 goals and 68 assists. The Swede international was part of the team which won 2 times the German Cup and once the German Super Cup.