Reports: Werder pursue three players while Union eye Friedl and Ducksch
Though promotion back to the top German footballing flight is by no means assured yet, several media reports suggest that SV Werder Bremen are taking an ambitiously active approach to building their 2022/23 roster.
A rumor involving FC Union Berlin's Robin Knoche appears to have been quashed for now, but Germany's main sporting tabloid lists three other players that the Hanseaten are actively interested in.
The tabloid also reports that Union Berlin themselves maintain interest in two current Werder players.
A rumor involving FC Union Berlin's Robin Knoche appears to have been quashed for now, but Germany's main sporting tabloid lists three other players that the Hanseaten are actively interested in.
The tabloid also reports that Union Berlin themselves maintain interest in two current Werder players.
Germany's Sport Bild explicitly refutes the Knoche rumors, but does note that Werder are angling for a Bundesliga defender in the form of SpVgg Greuther Fürth's Jetro Willems. The former Dutch international was snatched up by the Kleeblätter from Frankfurt this autumn after sliding down the SGE depth-chart into total disuse. The 28-year-old's starting place with the top-flight's last-placed team has been tentative itself, with Luca Itter threatening to displace him on the left-hand-side.
The country's main sporting tabloid also lists Holstein Kiel right-back Phil Neumann and former SpVgg Unterhaching midfielder Orestis Kiomourtzoglou as players sought after by the Weser. The Munich-born Kiomourtzoglou--currently playing for Heracles Almelo--has often been linked with a return to Germany. Former Knappenschmiede product Neumann would be available after the season on a free to reunite with former trainer Ole Werner.
Werder's revival under trainer Werner has seen the club lose just one game since the new head-coach took over in November. Werner led the Hanseaten through a 12-match-unbeaten run that spanned from December through March. Currently in second place in the 2. Bundesliga on 51 points, hopes for automatic promotion in the City-State are high.
As is always the case with a team in the midst of a promotion push, however, rumors begin to swirl around the key player. The Hanseaten wouldn't be in a such a favorable position without the services of striker Marvin Ducksch; quite possibly the most impactful 2. Liga transfer of the season.
Sport Bild reports that Union Berlin not only have Ducksch in their sights, but haven't given up on their scrubbed quest for Marco Friedl from last offseason. Ducksch is rumored to have an exit clause in the €5.5 million range on his current contract, which runs through 2024.
