Werder Bremen's bid to bring back Cameron Puertas has collapsed. The Bundesliga club could not meet the €10 million transfer fee demanded by his parent club Al-Qadsiah, as reported by sport.de. sport.de first reported the story.
Puertas spent the previous season on loan at Werder. The 28-year-old midfielder scored his only goal for the club in a 3:1 derby win against Hamburger SV. He had limited playing time in the first half of the campaign. After his loan deal ended, a permanent move was discussed but ultimately failed due to the financial demands. Werder Bremen begins the new season with this decision made and currently sits in 10th place in the table with three points from two matches.
Why did the Cameron Puertas transfer fail?
The primary reason for the deal's collapse was the prohibitive transfer fee for Werder Bremen. Al-Qadsiah, the Saudi club holding Puertas's registration, demanded a fixed fee of €10 million. This sum was beyond the financial reach of the Bremen-based side. Sporting director Peter Niemeyer commented on the situation: "We value Cameron highly and would have liked to work with him again." Instead, Puertas has moved on another loan, this time to Al-Wasl SC in the United Arab Emirates. The transfer window closed one week ago, ending all possibilities for this season.
How else has the Werder squad changed?
There were other personnel changes at Werder Bremen during the summer. On the sidelines, Daniel Thioune replaced Horst Steffen as head coach. To compensate for the injury to Jens Stage, the club signed Youri Regeer from Ajax Amsterdam. Stage is currently part of a lengthy injury list that also includes Felix Agu, Justin Njinmah, Eren Dinkçi, and Senne Lynen. The current injury situation can be viewed on the injuries page.
What is Werder Bremen's current situation?
Daniel Thioune's team has started the Bundesliga with one win and one loss. In the first two matches, Werder scored four goals but conceded five, resulting in a -1 goal difference. In the standings, Bremen trails surprising leaders FC Augsburg by three points. The full standings provide an overview of the tightly packed table.
Werder Bremen's next match is away at 1. FC Köln on September 12, 2026. The opponent currently sits in 11th place, just one point behind Bremen. The exact schedule for the coming weeks can be found on the fixtures page. For the midfield, the collapse of the Puertas deal means planning must proceed with existing options like Regeer and the remaining squad players.
