We can now add Samuel Mbangula to the name of players who went from playing in Juventus’ Next Gen program to leaving for a massive profit a year or two later.
Like it or not, it’s become a pattern.
Mbangula became the latest Next Gen alum to depart Juventus, with his move to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen becoming official on Wednesday afternoon. The 21-year-old Belgian — who made his Juve senior debut all of 11 months ago with a stunning season-opening performance — will join the German side on a deal
worth €10 million plus another potential €2 million in bonuses. Considering Mbangula joined the Juventus youth setup in the summer of 2020 as a teenager, that sale is pretty much straight profit — something that has become more of a normal operation for players who have broken into the senior team following their time in Serie C.
With his departure, Mbangula now joins the likes of Dean Huijsen, Matias Soulé, Nicolo Fagioli, Samuel Iling-Junior, Enzo Barrenechea and others to have come through the Next Gen ranks, played for the senior team and then be sold for a nice profit on the books.
In total, Juve has made more than €100 million off sales from former Next Gen players.
Samuel Mbangula joins Werder Bremen.
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) July 23, 2025
All the best with your next chapter, Sam!
Here are the official details of the deal, courtesy of Juventus’ press office:
Turin, 23 July 2025 – Juventus Football Club S.p.A. announces that an agreement with SV Werder Bremen for the definitive disposal of the registration rights of the player Samuel-Germain Kinduelu Mbangula Tshifunda has been reached for a consideration of € 10 million, payable in four financial years, in addition to variable bonuses up to a maximum of € 2 million.
This transaction generates a positive economic impact on the current financial year equal to ca. € 6.9 million, net of auxiliary expenses.
Mbangula started his senior career at Juventus with a bang, proving then-manager Thiago Motta right when he was a surprise starter in the Bianconeri’s 2024-25 season-opening win over Como. Mbangula scored the first Juve goal of the season on his Serie A debut, It was an even bigger surprise than his original inclusion in the starting lineup — and certainly the kind of performance that had some thinking Mbangula was the latest young gem to come out of the youth setup.
But Mbangula couldn’t replicate that form following his big start to the season. He had his moments, but ultimately the other wingers on the roster got more and more playing time, with his minutes mostly coming off the bench as Motta’s 10-month tenure at the helm went on. When Motta was dismissed in March and Igor Tudor took over on an interim basis, that playing became virtually nonexistent. Mbangula made just two appearances during the final two months of the season, totaling around 10 minutes of playing time off the bench.
In total, Mbangula played in just under 1,100 minutes over the span of 32 appearances across all competitions. Just 11 of those appearances were starts, with seven of those coming in Serie A.
There is talent there, and for his sake hopefully his move to Germany proves to be one that sees him get more playing time and opportunities to show what he’s worth at this stage of his young career. For Juventus, though, it’s just another youngster who
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