Armel Bella-Kotchap has completed a permanent transfer from Southampton to Hellas Verona, sealing a move to Serie A after his successful loan spell with the Italian club. The deal, concluded for a fee of €5.00m, follows the end of his loan from the English side and officially makes the centre-back a Verona player. His contract with Hellas Verona runs from 2026-02-02 to 2026-02-02.
The move formalises a relationship that began when Southampton sent the defender to Verona on loan for the 2025–26 campaign. After the loan concluded and he briefly returned to the Championship club, the Italian side acted to secure him on a standard transfer, bringing an end to his time on the books at St Mary’s. At the moment of the deal, Bella-Kotchap carried a market value of €7.50m, underlining Verona’s belief that the 24-year-old still has room to grow and potentially increase in value.
For Southampton, the transfer closes a chapter that started when they signed the then highly rated defender from VfL Bochum in 2022. His value had risen as high as €20.00m during his early period in England, but later updates showed a gradual decline before stabilising at Verona. The agreed €5.00m fee therefore represents a significant discount on his peak valuation, suggesting the Championship side were prepared to accept a cut-price exit rather than risk his value slipping further or his contract situation moving towards a potential free-agency scenario in the future.
For Hellas Verona, the permanent signing consolidates their defensive structure with a centre-back who has already adapted to the club and to Italian football. Bella-Kotchap is listed as a defender specialising at centre-back, standing 1.90 m tall and playing predominantly with his right foot, attributes that suit the tactically demanding defensive systems common in Serie A. His time on loan in Verona had already been reflected in his market value updates, which stabilised at €7.50m once he had become a regular part of their squad.
Bella-Kotchap’s journey to Verona has been marked by steady progression through several clubs and leagues. Born in Paris and holding both German and Cameroonian nationality, he developed in Germany’s youth system, moving through Rot Weiss Ahlen Youth, SC Grimlinghausen, Borussia Mönchengladbach’s youth ranks, SG Unterrath, MSV Duisburg Youth, and then VfL Bochum’s U17 and U19 sides. A promotion to Bochum’s first team in 2019 introduced him to senior professional football, and his performances in the 2. Bundesliga and later the Bundesliga helped him build a reputation as a powerful, promising defender.
His subsequent step to Southampton in 2022 exposed him to English football, with his value initially climbing rapidly during his first months in the Premier League. In 2023 he went on loan to PSV Eindhoven, gaining experience in the Dutch Eredivisie before returning to England in 2024. That spell in the Netherlands added another major European league to his résumé, and the sequence of moves has now culminated in a long-term switch to Italy’s top flight.
The permanent move to Hellas Verona means Bella-Kotchap’s immediate future is firmly tied to Serie A rather than to his previous clubs in Germany or England. Having already featured for sides in the Bundesliga, Premier League, Eredivisie, Championship, and now Serie A, he arrives in Verona as a well-travelled 24-year-old with experience across several styles of European football. If he continues to stabilise his form and maintain or improve his current €7.50m valuation, this transfer could prove a pivotal stage in his career, providing a platform in Italy from which he can rebuild his reputation and potentially open the door to further opportunities at the top level in the years ahead.
