Leeds United defender Max Wober has signed for German Bundesliga club Werder Bremen on a season-long loan.
The Whites confirmed Wober's departure on Friday, July 4 ahead of the team's return to pre-season testing and training on Monday.
United have signed international defenders Jaka Bijol and Sebastiaan Bornauw on long-term deals already this summer, who are expected to compete alongside Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk at centre-back, leaving Wober out of favour.
The Austrian international spent the 2023/24 season on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach and returns to the Bundesliga with Werder for the duration of 2025/26.
Last season, he made eight Championship appearances as Leeds clinched the league title, scoring once against Derby County.
New details emerge
Wober's new club have confirmed there is an option-to-buy included in the deal which takes the 27-year-old to Weser Stadion.
In a statement on Werder's website, the club said: "SV Werder Bremen have secured their first new signing ahead of the 2025/26 season. Austria international Maximilian Wöber has joined the club from Premier League side Leeds United. SVW have agreed a loan deal with the Yorkshire side, with a buy option also secured for the defender."
Some Leeds supporters have reacted to news of the loan move with confusion, pondering why the club have opted to loan Wober out once again, rather than selling and parting ways for good.
Why is a loan move preferable to Leeds financially?
The YEP's understanding is that for Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) purposes, selling Wober for less than his book value, estimated at £4.8 million, would cause Leeds to report a loss on their 2025/26 accounts.
This is due to player amortisation costs, which is a common accounting method employed by clubs whereby a transfer fee is paid over the length of a player’s contract, instead of being recorded as a single expense in the year of purchase.
Leeds signed Wober for £12 million in January 2023 on a four-and-a-half year deal, meaning for each financial year, United amortise £2.4 million of the Austrian's fee.
With three seasons (2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25) already accounted for, Wober's book value sits at £4.8 million. It has proven that teams with sufficient interest, including Werder, do not value the player at that sum. Any sale beneath that figure would see Leeds report a loss, with United unwilling to sanction that given an accounting profit could be gleaned in 12 months’ time.
Instead, next summer if Leeds are able to sell Wober for a fee in excess of £2.4 million, they will book a profit on the player's sale. Whilst the value of Werder’s option-to-buy remains undisclosed, it is likely equal to or greater than the player's book value of £2.4 million this time next year.
Wober's salary also represents a significant chunk off Leeds' wage bill for 2025/26, which will aid the Whites in staying the right side of PSR and in pursuing transfer targets to enhance Farke's squad.
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