Leverkusen Add $27.5 Million Rated Asset

Bayer Leverkusen has taken one of the most in-demand free agent defenders off the market. On Monday, Leverkusen announced that the club had signed Benfica left-back Alejandro Grimaldo on a free transfer for the upcoming season. With a Transfermarkt market value of €25 million ($27.5 million) Grimaldo was one of the most valuable free agents available on the market this summer.

Despite signing Grimaldo as a free agent, the 27-year-old is still a significant investment for Leverkusen. According to a report by kicker and the Portuguese newspaper Record, Leverkusen will pay Grimaldo a signing fee of €12 million ($13.2 million) and a yearly salary of €6 million ($6.6 million), which will make the Spaniard one of the highest earners in the squad of head coach Xabi Alonso.

“Alejandro Grimaldo is a versatile, very skilful left-back with great technical experience,” Bayer Leverkusen managing director of sport Simon Rolfes said in a club statement. “He is capable of scoring and has a lot of experience and quality. We are happy we were able to convince Alejandro of our ambitious plans for the years ahead.”

In Grimaldo, Leverkusen has signed a player, who is seen as a significant upgrade over current left-backs Daley Sinkgraven and Mitchel Bakker. Dynamic with a tendency to join the attack, Grimaldo has scored seven goals and 15 assists in 52 games across all competitions for Benfica this season.

Furthermore, the Spaniard is second with ten assists in 31 Liga Portugal games this season and is 12th overall with 14 scorer points in Portugal’s top division. In comparison, Sinkgraven has scored two assists in 12 Bundesliga games and Bakker has collected four goals and two assists in 37 games across all competitions.

The question is how will Grimaldo’s numbers translate to the Bundesliga? There is no doubt that Benfica is currently one of the best teams in Europe. Also, the Portuguese league has been on the rise lately.

Then there is Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso. The Spaniard has done a fantastic job at Leverkusen and the club still has a chance to reach the Europa League final this season. But there also have been some short-comings.

One of them has been speed from the left that can match what Jeremie Frimpong and Timothy Fosu-Mensah have produced from the right-back position. That sort of speed will be necessary as Alonso attempts to turn Leverkusen into one of the best sides in Germany.

Grimaldo definitely appears to be up for the challenge. “I’ve played for a top European club for seven years,” Grimaldo said in a statement published by the club. “But now I’m attracted by the idea of showing my strengths in the Bundesliga as well. For me, it is one of the best leagues in Europe and is definitely unique in terms of the set-up and atmosphere at the stadiums.”

Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcastand the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth