Football Season Guide

Paderborn

In


Max Kruse (att) free; Maximilian Rohr (def) Hamburger SV; David Kinsombi (mid) SV Sandhausen; Adriano Grimaldi (att) FC Saarbrucken; Laurin Curda (def) TSG Balingen; Arne Schulz (gk) Arminia Bielefeld; Mattes Hansen (mid) FC Schalke U19’s; Visar Musliu (def) FC Ingolstadt; Kimberly Ezekwem (def) SC Freiburg - on loan; Marcel Mehlem (mid) SV Sandhausen - end of loan; Jesse Edem Tugbenyo (mid) SC Verl - end of loan; Justus Henke (def) Wuppertaler SV - end of loan;

Out


Ron Schallenberg (mid) (r) FC Schalke; Julian Justvan (mid) (r) TSG Hoffenheim; Dennis Srbeny (att) (sp) Greuther Furth; Richmond Tachie (att) (sp) FC Kaiserslautern; Leopold Zingerle (gk) (sp) RB Leipzig; Jonas Carls (def) (sp) SV Waldhof Mannheim; Moritz Schulze (gk) Hallescher FC; Uwe Hunemeier (def) (sp) retired; Bashir Humphreys (def) (r) Chelsea - end of loan; Marvin Pieringer (att) (k) FC Schalke - end of loan; Robin Bormuth (def) Karlsruher SC; Jasper van der Werff (def) Hansa Rostock - on loan;

Paderborn were pleasing on the eye last season but their promotion push eventually ran out of steam as they finished in sixth position. Lukas Kwasniok’s side were ruthless at home but disappointed on the road, winning just four of their 17 away matches. Kwasniok is expected to have his side playing on the front foot again this season with the club only second to Hamburger in the scoring charts last campaign. This could be difficult after top-scorer Pieringer’s loan ended but Kruse and Grimaldi will bring some much-needed experience to the attack. Paderborn will also have to cope with the loss of captain Schallenberg, who left for Schalke, while the versatile Justvan departing for Hoffenheim will also be a hard void to fill. New midfielder David Kinsombi is a good player on his day but fell out of favour at relegated Sandhausen last season. There is a concern that Paderborn may not be as competitive after many changes to the side but if Muslija and Leipertz can perform at the same level again, then they should be a match for most. Winger Bilbija brought in from Hamburger also has plenty of potential, while the permanent capture of Rohr after his loan spell is a good bit of business.

Target


Promotion can’t be completely ruled out for Paderborn but with the competition stronger and the squad slightly weaker, a top-six finish will probably be the best they can hope for.