Victor Boniface To Depart Bayer Leverkusen And Join Al Nassr After Undergoing Medicals.

• Victor Boniface is set to complete his move to Saudi Arabian club side Al Nassr after Bayer Leverkusen agreed to a permanent transfer for the Nigeria international.

• He has undergone medical check-ups with Al Nassr ahead of a potential move.

• The transfer is now awaiting the final exchange of documents between the two clubs, which an official announcement will be made.

The Super Eagles star will earn a reported net salary of €15m (N23.8bn) per season if the move is completed, that's five times up of his current salary of €3m per season.

Boniface only signed a contract extension with the Bundesliga champions until 2029 last week.

The deal made him one of the top earners at Leverkusen.

Despite renewing his contract, Boniface  was however not considered unsellable by the Bundesliga champions.

Al Nassr’s interest in Victor Boniface didn’t take too long to become feasible as the talks were concluded in two days.

Leverkusen received €60m, €10m more than their asking price of €50m for the player.

Both clubs began talks for the transfer of the player on Monday and the negotiations continued on Tuesday as Al Nassr believe that adding Boniface's pace, power, and finishing ability to their frontline could be the just what they need to strengthen the club's attack following the exit of Anderson Talisca who joined Fenerbahce this month.

Upon confirmation of the move, Boniface will become the second most expensive departure in Leverkusen’s history after Kai Havertz, who moved to Chelsea for €80 million five years ago.

This move will see the Akure-born striker become the first to Nigerian player ever to play alongside five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

He will also star alongside Sadio Mane, and Aymeric Laporte, among other stars, at the Middle Eastern club.

Sky Germany reporter, Florian Plettenberg, confirmed the details after transfer expert Fabrizio Romano announced the commencement of negotiations.

“Victor Boniface will join Al Nassr FC with immediate effect,” the Italian journalist posted via X.

“Total agreement with Bayer 04 Leverkusen now has been reached about a final transfer fee of more than €60m. A verbal agreement already in place. €15m net per season as revealed. The 24 year-old striker has already passed his medical with Al-Nassr.”

Reports from Germany also indicate that Boniface missed the club’s training on Tuesday ahead of their last UEFA Champions League group stage clash against Sparta Prague on Wednesday night.

According to Kicker, Leverkusen said Boniface was missing because the attacker was “in conversations with another club.”

Leverkusen manager, Xabi Alonso, also confirmed the development during his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

“There is this situation, and I understand that. There are discussions with the club. We have to wait. We’re preparing for the game without Boni of course”... Alonso told reporters. 

“We will see. We need to wait a bit more but our preparation is with the rest of our squad who are ready and fit and in good shape at the moment.

“It’s the last Champions League game and that’s our focus.”

Boniface joined Leverkusen from Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise in July 2023 for a fee of around €20m plus add-ons, signing a contract at Leverkusen until 2028.

He was one of the key players to their sensational double triumph last season, scoring 21 goals plus 10 assists in 34 games across all competitions.

The striker was also named the league’s Rookie of the Year award after winning the prize’s monthly equivalent on four separate occasions.

His contributions on and off the pitch made him a fan favourite at the club.

Although he had been ruled out with a thigh injury since last year November 2024, Boniface has scored eight times and one assist in 15 games for the German team this season.

Excusing him from the teams tuesday's training might also be a caution on their part so as not to send him back to the sidelines before the move.

Leverkusen will be disappointed to lose Boniface, who was instrumental in their historic unbeaten Bundesliga title-winning campaign in 2023/24.

They will now immediately look for a potential replacement with six days left in the transfer window.

They are expected to ramp up efforts to sign a replacement, with Brighton’s Evan Ferguson among the names linked.

Both Mario Hermoso and Emiliano Buendia are reportedly expected to arrive on loan to boost the German champions’ numbers in defence and attack.