Köln promote Diehl and Potocnik to senior team training
As Köln continue to train under the interim coaching regime of André Pawlak and Kevin McKenna, young prospects Justin Diehl and Jaka Cuber Potocnik have been elevated to the senior team training pitch.
Relegation-threatened Bundesliga side 1. FC Köln continue to search for a new trainer to replace the sacked Steffen Baumgart as the team heads into the New Year. Several names have cropped up in the rumor mills. In the meantime, the Geißböcke have commenced their January 2024 training camp under the aegis of assistant coaches André Pawlak and Kevin McKenna.
Effzeh chief sporting executive Christian Keller has indicated that - whoever the new head-coach happens to be - the retention of Pawlak and McKenna is "non-negotiable". This was confirmed by Keller while also conveying the news on Tuesday that that two of Baumgart's other former assistants (René Wagner and Uwe Gospodarek) has been let go.
Köln have also taken immediate steps to elevate two youngsters to the professional squad. German footballing insiders called upon Köln to ensure that young talent Justin Diehl (snubbed by Baumgart) and Jaka Cuber Potocnik (the subject of Köln's two-year-transfer-ban) be called up to the senior team immediately. This dual promotion has been accomplished.
In his public comments on Tuesday, Keller noted that issues with Diehl had been "straightened out". Diehl has been the subject of recruitment efforts by larger German clubs. The latest on the 19-year-old phenom's future, according to report published by Germany's Kicker Magazine today, holds that Stuttgart have made concrete overtures to the teenager over a possible a free transfer in the summer.