Wolfsburg sign Germany international Luca Waldschmidt

Waldschmidt, 25, has signed with the Wolves on an four-year deal to return to the Bundesliga and his home country. The forward becomes Wolfsburg's sixth signing permanent signing of the summer.

"We've been following Luca's development for a long time now and we're delighted that he's now signed for VfL," said Wolfsburg sporting director Marcel Schäfer. "Luca has already shown in the Bundesliga, and elsewhere, that he's a very dangerous attacker who can play anywhere across the front line, making him very flexible.

"He’s perfectly suited to our team, not just in terms of his footballing ability but also his personality. He’s not at the end of his development yet and so we’re looking forward to pursuing our objectives with him.”

Waldschmidt - who has scored twice in seven international appearances for Germany - signed for Benfica from Freiburg in the summer of 2020. The 25-year-old scored 10 goals in 41 appearances across all competitions last season, and has scored two in as many games at the start of 2020/21.

“I’m really happy to be back in the Bundesliga,” Waldschmidt told the Wolfsburg website. “I really wanted to come back. After I started talking to the VfL management team, I soon knew that making the step to VfL Wolfsburg is exactly the right one for me. I like the path the club is on, and their philosophy and ambitions are completely in alignment with mine.

"I know two or three of the guys already and now I’m looking forward to getting to know the rest of the team and the surroundings. I want to contribute as quickly as I can to VfL achieving their aims in the Bundesliga and on the international stage.”

Waldschmidt could make his Wolfsburg debut next weekend as the Wolves, currently top of the Bundesliga table with two wins from two, bid to cement their place at the summit at home to RB Leipzig on Sunday 29 August.