Felix Götze pleased to be "back at home" on new 3. Liga loan-out
Headed back to the 3. Bundesliga for his third consecutive loan stint in Germany's third division, Felix Götze declared himself happy to be once again playing for a club from his native Ruhr region, Rot-Weiß Essen.
The RWE themselves will be hoping that, just like last year with 1. FC Kaiserslautern, the 24-year-old can help them attain promotion.
German football's Götze brothers will not be playing in the same division this year. Mario Götze's younger brother Felix, still property of FC Augsburg, will actually be headed back to Germany's third-tier professional footballing flight for the third consecutive season.
The RWE themselves will be hoping that, just like last year with 1. FC Kaiserslautern, the 24-year-old can help them attain promotion.
After back-to-back loans with 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Götze completed training camp with the first division Fuggerstadter. After having given him a fresh look, however, the FCA opted to ship him out on loan yet again.
"We wish Felix Götze all the best at Rot-Weiss Essen," Augsburg sporting director Stefan Reuter noted in a statement released by the club, "Hopefully he can remain injury-free especially that he stays injury-free and build upon his development from last year."
"Felix is a top player who knows the 3rd division and was promoted as a regular with 1. FC Kaiserslautern last season," Rot-Weiß-Essen chief personnel executive Jörn Nowak added, "From his time there, Felix also knows how to deal with pressure situations. Felix is a native of the Ruhr area and we are, as such, all the more pleased that he has decided against higher-caliber offers to join us."
"The Ruhr region is my home," Götze was sure to emphasize in his own statement, "I've been following Rot-Weiss Essen with excitement for the past few years. The club, with all its tradition, simply belongs in the third division. I want to get involved right away in establishing the RWE there and I'm absolutely thrilled to play at the Hafenstraße."
Essen are back in a fully professional German footballing division for the first time since dropping down to the Regionalliga tiers following the 2006/07 season. According to German media sources reporting on Götze's loan, he will become permanent property of the RWE if they can manage to avoid relegation this year.
Götze - like his more well known older brother - has spent time in both the Bayern and Dortmund organizations. In Felix's case, he only worked in the academies of the BVB and FCB. The younger Götze made six top flight appearances for the FCA during the 2018/19 campaign, scoring one goal.
😍👏 Felix Götze wird #RotWeisser! Der 24-jährige Defensivspieler wechselt zunächst auf Leihbasis vom Bundesligisten @FCAugsburg an die #Hafenstraße. Willkommen! 🔴⚪️
— Rot-Weiss Essen (@rot_weiss_essen) August 29, 2022
ℹ️👉 https://t.co/uajdYhZ9CO#immeRWEiter #nurderrwe pic.twitter.com/ruDjuev4vj