Saël Kumbedi moves to VfL Wolfsburg on permanent contract

VfL Wolfsburg and Olympique Lyonnais have reached an agreement regarding Saël Kumbedi. Wolfsburg initially signed the 20-year-old French right-back on a loan until the end of the 2025/26 season.

Saël Kumbedi will stay at VfL Wolfsburg until 30 June 2029, as the Niedersachsen side and Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais have come to an agreement for the 20-year-old French right-back. The club announced this evening that the deal, which was in final stages last month, has now come into effect.

Wolfsburg acquired Kumbedi from OL in the summer, on a one-year loan with a €6 million option to buy. The club has now exercised that option halfway through the loan, and OL will receive the above amount.

Kumbedi has played nine matches for VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga this season, taking the main RB spot that was previously occupied by Kilian Fischer and, before him, Danish loanee Mads Roerslev. He has four assists, two of which have come in this month alone against Eintracht Frankfurt (on Aaron Zehnter’s sixty-seventh minute goal) and Union Berlin (on Mohamed Amoura’s thirtieth minute goal).

According to Transfermarkt, Kumbedi’s current market value is in the range of € 9 million.