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FSV Mainz 05 sporting director Nico Bungert recently declared that his club is finished with January 2026 transfer signings. Bungert and Mainz CEO Christian Heidel have been highly proactive in addressing the personnel docket facing them in the current window, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the highly respected administrative duo are done with business quite yet.
Mainz began the new calendar year dead last in the Bundesliga table. Two league victories and a draw have enabled the Rheinhessen to pick up seven points from four league fixtures and pull themselves up to the promotion-relegation playoff place. Though safety remains far from assured, new head coach Urs Fischer has already made the most of his new additions.
Who have Mainz added?
Heidel and Bungert acted quickly to acquire two new attackers, perhaps overpaying a little to secure the services of Augsburg striker Phillip Tietz while scoring a low-cost coup on an effective zero-risk deal to bring in Stuttgart winger Silas. Both new additions have already earned starts under Fischer. Thus far, a lone assist from Tietz constitutes the lone appearance of either player on the scoresheet.
Tietz may have not opened up his Mainz account just yet, but has managed to help teammates like Benedict Hollerbach and Nadiem Amiri perform better from different attacking positions. Unfortunately, Tietz and Silas did not perform well as a double striker set in Mainz’s league loss against Köln. Tietz also missed a penalty this weekend.
The third addition of the current transfer window certainly can’t be accused of not making a quick impact. Stefan Posch featured in Fischer’s starting XI not long after the ink on his transfer paperwork had dried and delivered a fine performance in the weekend victory over Wolfsburg. Few doubted that Posch would contribute without delay.
Who might yet depart?
Mainz find themselves in no rush to sell anyone. Tietz’s purchase (€4m) and Posch’s loan fee (€200,000) barely places a dent in Mainz’s estimated transfer surplus. The relatively small market club still doesn’t count as a revenue factory. Mainz’s current form has unquestionably made a huge dent in Mainz’s gate receipts. A little extra cash in the form of loan fees would prove most helpful.
Loan outs of Hong Hyun-Seok and Konstantin Schopp generated no reported loan fees. Attacker Ben Bobzien’s latest parking also didn’t bring in a known revenue. It might prove the case that inconsistent attackers such as William Bøving, Paul Nebel, or Arnaud Nordin might be shopped for loans.
It counts as extremely unlikely that Mainz will seriously begin to consider the offers for Kaishu Sano in the midst of a relegation race. Similarly, the likelihood that Heidel and Bungert might consider cashing the only valuable player on their dead weight/expiring contract ledger (Jae-Sung Lee) is slim.
Nelson Weiper might be on the move
The process of deduction leaves Nelson Weiper as the most likely candidate for departure. Despite the fact that Weiper’s public row with the team this offseason actually ended with him signing a contract extension, Weiper still hasn’t scored a Bundesliga goal for Mainz this season.
A bout with the flu leaves Weiper still awaiting his first minutes of 2026. If Mainz can’t secure loan fees for their €12m-valued player, a sale might even be considered. If Weiper is sold, one can surely bet that Mainz aren’t finished adding new players in the January transfer window at all.
It’s worth nothing that Bungert hasn’t ruled out new purchases entirely.
Bungert’s recent statement
“We are very well positioned to achieve our goals,” the sporting director remarked after Saturday’s 3-1 win over Wolfsburg. “There will probably be no further signings.“
