Alfa-Ruprecht possesses enormous potential, but was unable to break through in Leverkusen training camp following his late arrival this summer. The Hamburg native still lacks professional experience at a high level, though he did regularly make his presence felt for the Man City reserves. The teenage talent remains under contract with B04 until 2030.

“The loan to Bochum should enable Farid to make great strides in his quality-of-play,” Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes noted in a club statement. “We will closely monitor his progress and are confident that he has solid prospects at Bayer 04.“

“I have gained an excellent impression of the club over the past few weeks,” the youngster himself added. “I want to establish myself here in the long term and am confident that I can prove myself through good performances in Bochum.”

GGFN | Peter Weis

It brings an end to Broschinski’s three years at Bochum where he scored six goals and provided seven assists in 76 appearances across all competitions. The 24-year-old is already off the mark this season after scoring in VfL’s opening day defeat against Darmstadt (4-1).

At Basel, Broschinski has the opportunity to feature in the Champions League this season should the Swiss side prove victorious in their playoff at the end of August, which will be against either Malmö or Copenhagen. 

Upheaval in Bochum following their relegation 

Broschinski will become the latest player to leave Bochum following their relegation from the Bundesliga after Tim Oermann (Bayer Leverkusen, €1.9m), Lukas Daschner (St. Gallen, €650k), Dani de Wit (Utrecht, €400k), Patrick Drewes (€200k, Borussia Dortmund) and Bernardo (Hoffenheim, free) all left the club. However, Broschinski will be their biggest departure so far this summer.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder

Incredible atmospheres and fan culture

Until 1. FC Köln and Hamburg were promoted at the end of last season, the 2. Bundesliga for several years boasted more former German champions than the top flight. Storied clubs steeped in tradition and backed by huge followings – not just across Germany but around the world – find themselves languishing below their standards of decades gone by. All this makes for some incredible atmospheres that must be seen to be believed. And when you factor in the cost of a matchday ticket and beer, not to mention the free transport to the game, then no country rivals Germany.

It’s impossible to predict

For much of last season, 10 clubs were firmly in the promotion race until the final weeks, with the eventual top nine clubs separated by just 10 points. Elversberg upset the apple cart by finishing third and making it to the relegation playoff, just one point behind HSV. The league is simply impossible to predict, anyone can beat anyone and remains fiercely tight throughout. With a host of sides missing out on Bundesliga promotion last season, and the additions of relegated VfL Bochum and Holstein Kiel, along with 3. Liga newcomers Dynamo Dresden and none other than DFB Pokal finalists Arminia Bielefeld, the upcoming campaign promises to be even more unpredictable than the last.

A league of sleeping giants and big names

FC Köln and HSV may have earned promotion back into the top flight – the latter after a seven-year absence – but there are still a number of sleeping giants in the 2. Bundesliga. 1. FC Nürnberg, a nine-time German champion, have found themselves languishing in the second division since 2019. 1. FC Kaiserslautern – who won the Bundesliga in 1998 – found themselves in the 3. Liga in 2022 but since returned and narrowly missed out on the promotion playoff. Schalke 04 and Hertha Berlin are two clubs steeped in history with exceptional fanbases, but find themselves stuck in the second division while Hannover will also be eager to return to the Bundesliga under Christian Titz. And when it comes to big names, there are few bigger than Miroslav Klose in German football, who coaches FC Nürnberg in what is his first professional coaching job.

GGFN | Harry Good 

Köln were keen to acquire Krauß on loan all summer, but Mainz’s desire to sell the player outright rendered completing the deal difficult. It is such that Mainz have built a mandatory purchase option in that will require Köln to purchase Krauß if one of two requirements are met. Either a certain number of appearances or Köln avoiding relegation will trigger a €2.5-3m purchase of Krauß. 

Krauß most recently split last season on loan with Luton Town in the EFL Championship and VfL Bochum in the German top flight. Both clubs Krauß represented ended up getting relegated from their respective divisions. Krauß has amassed 76 German top flight appearances with Schalke, Mainz, and Bochum.

Köln have now acquired two players on loan in as many days after securing Wolfsburg attacker Jakub Kaminski’s services yesterday. After Kaminski, striker Ragnar Ache, and attacking Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson, Krauß serves the fourth new arrival at the cathedral city club this summer.

“He [Krauß] provides us another important option for our central midfield, which will give our game new impetus,” Köln sporting director Thomas Kessler noted in a club statement. “He has exactly the qualities we were looking for in this central position: a strong mentality, great strength in one-on-one situations and dynamism. Despite his young age, Tom already has valuable experience at a high level.”

“There were several reasons why I chose FC [Köln],” Krauß himself added. “Thomas Kessler and coach [Lukas Kwasniok] gave me a good feeling right from the start. That’s always important. And of course the club, the city—and many friends who live here in the area. That’s why I knew very quickly that I really wanted to do this.”

GGFN | Peter Weis

It is such that negotiations over Krauß’ move to FC Köln have stalled. Köln wished to take Krauß on loan. Mainz, having already loaned Krauß out to Luton Town and VfL Bochum last year, are only interested in selling. Krauß currently maintains an estimated €4m market value. At his career peak, the formerly successful Germany U21 international was valued as a €7m player.

At the very least, Mainz will surely insist on an obligatory purchase option as part of any loan deal. Heidel made clear that the ball was now firmly in the cathedral city club’s court when it came to the state of negotiations. 

“If Tom leaves, we want to sell him,” Heidel told reporters. “In Köln, there is a desire to do things a little differently. That’s a decision that rests with the Köln committees.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

Wätjen made his Bundesliga debut very much unexpectedly on matchday 32 of the 2023/24 Bundesliga campaign. Thrust into the starting XI by then BVB head-coach Edin Terzic, Wätjen registered an assist in a 5-1 victory over Augsburg. 

Terzic and BVB sporting director Sebastian Kehl memorably talked up Wätjen’s potential after the match. Wätjen would nevertheless not earn another Bundesliga start under Terzic and subsequent Dortmund head coaches Nuri Sahin and Niko Kovac. 

Wätjen made two brief relief appearances under Sahin during the first half of the 2024/25 season. For the most part, however, the teenage talent spent the year with BVB II in the 3. Liga. He did score five goals and contribute five assists in 20 appearances for the Dortmund reserves. 

“We made a conscious decision to loan Kjell out very ambitious second division club where he can gain a lot of playing experience,” Kehl noted in a BVB released statement. “Due to the competitive situation in our midfield, the latter would have been difficult for Kjell at BVB in 2025/2026.“

Bochum sporting director Dirk Dufner lauded Wätjen – currently representing the Germany U19s at the UEFA U19 European Championship – as “one of the most talented German players in his age group“.

Wätjen was also part of the famous Christian Wück squad that captured the 2023 U17 World Championship. He notched two U17 tallies under Wück.

“I am delighted to be able to take the next steps in my young career at [VfL Bochum’s] Castroper Straße,” Wätjen – who is from nearby Gevelsberg – noted in his own statement. “I come from this region and know how important VfL is to the people here.”

GGFN | Peter Weis

Drewes, who only joined the Ruhr side from Karlsruhe last summer, will be Dortmund’s third-choice goalkeeper behind Gregor Kobel and Alexander Meyer after the departure of Marcel Lotka. 

Sky reports that Drewes will sign a contract at Dortmund until 2027, either as a straight two-year deal or a one plus one year option deal. die Schwarzgelben could also pay the recently relegated side a small transfer fee. 

This season, Drewes started the year as Bochum’s number one, but a series of mistakes and a lighter being thrown at him by Union Berlin fans meant that Timo Horn was promoted to the number one position and the former 1.FC Köln keeper maintains the place for the rest of the season. 

Dortmund winter signing Diant Ramaj will be sent on loan for another season. The former German youth international spent last season on loan at Copenhagen and had impressed as the Danish side won the double.

GGFN | Jack Meenan 

The 30-year-old spent two seasons in the Ruhr, joining from RB Salzburg. During his time at Bochum, Bernardo played 56 times in all competitions before the club’s relegation this season. 

kicker reports that Bochum have likely waived an option in the Brazilian’s contract that would have extended his contract by a year after playing 17 games this season.

1.FC Köln had also shown an interest in bringing Bernardo to the club, but Hoffenheim won the race for the defender as they are looking to add Bundesliga experience to their young defence, after a horrible season where they finished 15th in the league. 

This is Hoffenheim’s second signing of the summer, and second free transfer, after earlier completing the signing of striker Tim Lemperle from 1.FC Köln. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan

The versatile attacker – who has proven himself capable of playing at the six, eight, and ten positions – won the Fritz Walter Medal as the greatest talent in the DFB’s U-17 division after 2023/24 season. He reached the final of the German A-Junior Championship with Leverkusen’s U19 team this year. 

“Francis Onyeka has developed into an outstanding player in Bayer 04’s youth ranks in recent years,” Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes noted in a club statement. “He will continue to improve in Bochum through regular appearances at a high level. VfL gets a great talent who can then make the step up to a player with excellent opportunities at Bayer 04.”

“[Onyeka is] one of the most talented players of his age group in Germany and has had an exceptional season,” Bochum sporting director Dirk Dufner added in his own statement. “His technical skills and attacking instincts caught our attention, especially as he has already been able to acclimate to a high training level and playing with the pros and has also taken on responsibility as captain of the U19 team.”

“I’ve always been impressed by the atmosphere [in Bochum],” Onyeka himself said. “I hope I can convince and get as much playing time as possible. The 2. Bundesliga is physically demanding and it will be a real challenge.”

GGFN | Peter Weis

Oermann joins from relegation Bochum for a fee of around €1.5-2m. The 21-year-old will sign a contract at the BayArena until 2029, however, he will spend the next year on loan at Strum Graz in the Austrian Bundesliga. The defender leaves boyhood club Bochum, where he was a regular in the squad for two seasons, making a total of 51 appearances over three seasons at the Ruhrstadion. 

The Austrian Champions, who won the title on the final day, will play in the Champions League playoffs next season, meaning Oermann will experience European football next season. 

This is Leverkusen’s second signing of the summer window, and it is clear in the direction they are going, after already completing the signing of Ibrahim Maza from Hertha Berlin for €12m. This is a season of upheaval at the BayArena after the confirmed departures of head coach Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid and Jonathan Tah to Bayern Munich, as well as the likely departures of Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz to Liverpool.

GGFN | Jack Meenan