Moussa Sylla, the FC Schalke 04 striker who multiple in-the-know transfer insiders said was heading to New York City FC, is now set to stay in Germany after his €7 million move fell apart at the finish line.
Multiple reports from outlets in Germany like Kicker and Sky Sports Germany indicated that the Sylla transfer hit a snag over concerns raised by NYCFC during Sylla's medical exam, supposedly conducted during the middle of last week in Manchester, England – the European base of operations for City Football Group, owners of New York City FC.
New York City tried to renegotiate the terms of the deal to sign Sylla after conducting the medical, but Schalke didn't find common ground on any of the new terms proposed by NYCFC and City Football Group.
Schalke released a statement on their official website – which you can read in full here – confirming the transfer would not take place because, despite having contracts that "were not only negotiated but already signed," New York City used a failed medical examination to attempt to renegotiate the terms of the deal. Schalke front-office executive Frank Baumann was further quoted calling it "incomprehensible" on NYCFC's part because Sylla is fit and able to play.
According to Kicker, New York City reportedly had concerns about an old knee injury suffered by Sylla, as well as what translated from German as "certain signs of wear and tear in the 26-year-old," leading them to try to switch the terms of the deal, even floating the possibility of arranging a loan for Sylla rather than an outright sale.
No deal was reached on what was transfer deadline day in Germany, and Sylla took to his personal Instagram account on the evening of February 2 to address the swirl of rumors and speculation about his future, posting blue and white heart emojis (the club colors of Schalke) along with the message "SchalkeFansYou [sic] are crazy I'm coming home. MS" on his Stories.
Back on January 25, a sequence of out-of-the-blue reports emerged stating that Sylla was on his way out of Schalke and to New York City FC.
Schalke put out their own statement acknowledging they'd reached an agreement in principle to sell Sylla to another club, and Florian Plettenberg of Sky Germany was the first reporter to declare he'd be joining NYCFC – with Tom Bogert of The Athletic later confirming Plettenberg and stating that Sylla would arrive as a Designated Player, with NYCFC "buying down" Thiago Martins with Targeted Allocation Money to make him just a regular non-Designated Player on the team's roster.
Andrew Leigh
Had this transfer come to fruition, Sylla would have become a second straight big-money attacking DP added after Nico Fernández Mercau last summer, and he would have become the team's presumptive starter at striker. Now, New York City and Sporting Director Todd Dunivant are back to the drawing board as they try to replace the goals lost with Alonso Martínez sidelined as he recovers from the ACL injury he suffered last fall.
There's still Nico, who started at the No 9 when Martínez missed time with injury late last season, and there's still teenaged prospect Seymour Reid – and Talles Magno and Maxi Moralez are both back to offer alternate options on the wing and as a central attacking midfielder, should Fernández Mercau start up top, though Julián Fernández is gone as an option to fill in on the right-wing or maybe centrally.
A Designated Player slot would remain open, if the Thiago Martins buy-down reporting is accurate and if the team intends to keep Talles on the roster all season.
It's also worth noting that the MLS Primary Transfer Window officially remains open until March 26, which is a very different transfer schedule than the one adhered to by teams in Germany like Schalke.
Reporting on the Schalke side indicated that they wouldn't sell Sylla at this point now that the European transfer windows have closed, since they'd be unable to sign a replacement.
Sylla-to-New York City looks dead and buried at this moment, given the scathing statement from Schalke and the player's latest comment on Instagram. Money is money, and NYCFC can still do business for many more weeks, so it's always possible we get more twists in this Moussa Sylla Transfer Saga.
This post was updated February 3 at 10:00 am ET with references to the official statement released by Schalke. The full statement is below, in the original German and in translation.
Moussa Sylla bleibt Schalker – die Hintergründe zur Entscheidung
Da New York City FC den bereits vollständig ausgehandelten Deal aus nicht nachvollziehbaren Gründen nachverhandeln wollte und dabei unverhältnismäßige Parameter setzte, kommt der Wechsel von Moussa Sylla nun nicht zustande.
Im Namen des Vorstands erklärt Frank Baumann: „Wir sind irritiert über das Verhalten von New York City FC. Die Verträge waren nicht nur ausgehandelt, sondern bereits unterschrieben. Nun einen nicht bestandenen Medizincheck vorzuschieben und damit eine Klausel im Vertrag zu aktivieren, ist aus unserer Sicht nicht nachvollziehbar – denn Moussa ist gesund und spielfit. Wir sehen in dem Befund keinen Grund, den Medizincheck als nicht bestanden zu werten. Dieser Darstellung werden wir vehement widersprechen, auch um Moussa zu schützen. Er kann ohne Weiteres noch ein Jahrzehnt als Profi-Fußballer unterwegs sein.“
Baumann ergänzt: „Statt einer festen Verpflichtung war am Sonntag (1.2., Anm. der Red.) plötzlich von einer Leihe mit Optionen die Rede. Für uns ist das nicht akzeptabel.“
Schalke 04 wird den gesamten Vorgang intern prüfen und mögliche nächste Schritte bewerten.
Moussa Sylla wird in der Heimspiel-Woche vor der Partie am Samstag (7.2.) gegen Dynamo Dresden wieder ins Mannschaftstraining einsteigen. „Moussa ist ein Top-Stürmer, er wird in dieser Liga noch einige Tore für uns schießen, davon bin ich überzeugt“, stellt Baumann klar.
Moussa Sylla remains a Schalker - the background to the decision
Since New York City FC wanted to renegotiate the already fully negotiated deal for incomprehensible reasons and set disproportionate parameters, the change of Moussa Sylla will not come about.
On behalf of the board, Frank Baumann explains: "We are irritated by the behavior of New York City FC. The contracts were not only negotiated, but already signed. Now, from our point of view, it is incomprehensible to postpone a failed medical check and thus activate a clause in the contract - because Moussa is healthy and fit for play. We see no reason in the findings to consider the medical check as failed. We will vehemently contradict this representation, also to protect Moussa. He can easily be on the road as a professional footballer for another decade.”
Baumann adds: "Instead of a firm commitment, there was suddenly talk of a loan with options on Sunday (1.2., editor's note). This is not acceptable to us.”
Schalke 04 will examine the entire process internally and evaluate possible next steps.
Moussa Sylla will return to team training in the home game week before the game on Saturday (7.2.) against Dynamo Dresden. "Moussa is a top striker, he will score a few more goals for us in this league, I am convinced of that," Baumann clarifies.
