Bundesliga side Stuttgart on Tuesday announced the signing of striker Ermedin Demirovic from Augsburg until 2028 ahead of their return to the Champions League this season.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina international joins for a reported fee of 21 million euros (23 million dollars) plus up to 5 million euros in add-ons, which makes the deal both a record purchase for Stuttgart and a record sale for Augsburg.
Stuttgart, who needed to win a relegation playoff to stay in the Bundesliga in 2023, surprisingly finished second in the table last season, ahead of perennial champions Bayern Munich.
The second-place finish meant Stuttgart qualified for the Champions League for the first time since 2009-10.
Demirovic looks set to replace Serhou Guirassy, who scored 28 goals in 28 games for Stuttgart last season but has been linked with a move to Borussia Dortmund.
Guirassy had arrived in Dortmund but the transfer was postponed after a medical check. Dortmund announced on X, formerly Twitter, “an injury was discovered which requires further investigation.”
Hamburg-born Demirovic scored 15 goals and laid on 10 assists in 33 games for Augsburg last season.