Kento Shiogai is on his way from NEC to VfL Wolfsburg for ten million euros. The German club has activated a buyout clause in the Japanese’s contract. NEC and Wolfsburg have agreed.
This makes Shiogai, rarely a basic player, the second most expensively sold NEC player ever. Only goalkeeper Robin Roefs delivered more last summer, with his transfer to Sunderland.
Shiogai (20) was behind his compatriot Koki Ogawa in the pecking order, but was very important for NEC as a substitute. He has already scored seven goals in the competition this season. Over the entire year of 2025, he scored eleven goals as a substitute, which is a record in the Premier League.
NEC would have preferred to keep its super sub this winter and previously turned down an offer from Wolfsburg. The Germans then decided to activate the clause.
NEC has earned more than twenty million euros with the transfers of Shiogai and Roefs. The next financial blow is coming with the Japanese midfielder Kodai Sano: he should reportedly earn almost twenty million euros. The highest amount NEC received for a player before 2025 was 5.5 million euros for Magnus Mattsson, who went to FC Copenhagen.
