Schalke 04 and Eintracht Frankfurt close in on Dina Ebimbe

Junior Dina Ebimbe is 25 years old and under contract in Frankfurt until June 30, 2027. His market value is currently estimated at around six million euros. The right winger or central midfielder was most recently loaned out to French top-flight side Brest, where he put in some good performances, scoring five goals in 27 appearances – not always starting and only once going the full 90 minutes.

In Brest, the club held a purchase option but reportedly did not exercise it. When asked whether his loan club would trigger that option, Ebimbe most recently said: „Ich weiß nicht genau, gehe aber nicht davon aus. Ich werde wohl erst mal zurück nach Frankfurt gehen." The midfielder had also taken stock personally in a Bild interview in May, explaining that he had sometimes surrounded himself with the wrong people.

Personal reset

He said: „Ich bin jemand, der sein Vertrauen leicht verschenkt. Leider habe ich es Leuten gegeben, die mich ausgenutzt haben. Das habe ich teuer bezahlt." Regarding his time in Brest, Ebimbe told Sport Bild: „Aber in Brest wurde ich geheilt." And on his return, he put it this way: „Ich komme als neue Person zurück."

His sporting CV makes for impressive reading: at Paris Saint-Germain, Ebimbe once trained alongside Neymar and Lionel Messi. In 2022, he was initially loaned out to SGE, and a year later signed permanently. In the 2023/24 Bundesliga season he contributed a total of 15 scoring involvements (goals and assists combined), including a brace in the 5-1 win over FC Bayern at Frankfurt's Waldstadion.

Frankfurt's sporting director Markus Krösche had described Ebimbe as versatile, dynamic and tactically intelligent when signing him in 2022: „Er hat eine Vielseitigkeit, Dynamik und Spielintelligenz, mit der er uns noch unberechenbarer und taktisch flexibler machen kann." Schalke now appears keen to make use of those qualities.

A career path with twists and turns

Eintracht Frankfurt's coach is, according to available data, Adi Hütter – the Austrian had already tried to steer Ebimbe to Monaco in the winter of 2024. On the touchline for the Royal Blues is Miron Muslic, who led Schalke to promotion to the Bundesliga. Sportingly, Ebimbe is expected to be deployed in one of the number-ten positions or in central midfield, as well as out wide.

Most recently, Ebimbe had been absent from both the Frankfurt squad and team training for months on end. SGE had sidelined him in the interim, significantly narrowing his options for a move. Schalke could now offer him the prospect of regular playing time in the Bundesliga.

The contractual constellation is considered unusual: while Ebimbe still has a long-term deal in Frankfurt running until 2027, the fee of just over one million euros would be comparatively low. As for the exact structure – fixed sum, possible bonuses or sell-on clauses – no final details had been reported at the time of writing. The WAZ also wrote of bonuses in the overall package that would be difficult to trigger.