Kownacki joined Werder Bremen on a free transfer from Fortuna Düsseldorf in the summer of 2023 after an impressive season in the second tier of German football. He had scored 14 goals in 32 Bundesliga 2 appearances for Düsseldorf and arrived at the Weserstadion expected to provide another attacking option.
The move, however, never developed as either side had hoped.
Kownacki made 22 competitive appearances for Werder without scoring a single goal. His time at the club subsequently included loan spells back at Düsseldorf and with Hertha BSC, but neither move provided the breakthrough Werder had been seeking.
The club's intention this summer was therefore to find a permanent solution and remove Kownacki from the wage bill.
A permanent transfer could not be arranged, leaving Werder and the 29-year-old to agree another way of ending a relationship that had not delivered the expected return.
Kownacki’s contract was due to run until 2027, but Werder have now confirmed that the agreement has been cancelled by mutual consent.
Sport director Clemens Fritz explained that the decision followed discussions with the player about his position and prospects at the club.
“We have spoken together with Dawid about his sporting situation and his prospects at Werder in recent weeks,” Fritz said.
“We came to the conclusion that terminating the contract is the best solution for both sides.”
The decision brings an end to a three-year spell that began with considerable expectations after Kownacki’s prolific campaign in Düsseldorf.
The Polish striker had previously established himself as a regular scorer in Germany after moving to Fortuna, having also played for Sampdoria and Lech Poznań earlier in his career.
At Werder, however, he struggled to reproduce that form.
His failure to score in 22 competitive appearances ultimately left the club looking for alternative solutions, while successive loan moves meant he spent much of his time away from Bremen.
The termination also gives Kownacki the opportunity to look for a new club without Werder’s involvement in his future.
For Bremen, meanwhile, the agreement resolves a situation that had become increasingly difficult to sustain with two years remaining on the original contract.
The club can now move forward without Kownacki on its squad or wage bill, while the striker must find a new setting in which to revive a career that had appeared to be moving in a different direction when he returned to Germany’s second tier with Düsseldorf.