Transfer double pack
©IMAGO
Rot-Weiss Essen is preparing for the fight against relegation with a lot of experience. The third division club announced the signing of striker Dominik Martinovic on Monday. The 27-year-old comes on a free transfer from Croatian first division club Slaven Belupo Koprivnica. Darmstadt veteran Klaus Gjasula (35) is also joining Hafenstrasse.
Martinovic can look back on 141 games (42 goals) in the 3rd league, only RWE captain Michael Schultz (31) has more. In 2023/24, the attacker also played for SV Elversberg in the 2nd Bundesliga. Martinovic, who contributed one goal and one assist in twelve appearances for Slaven Belupo, said: “The financial reasons were not the deciding factor for my move, I’m more interested in this club, the history, the fans and the chance to help shape the future – and me “I want to help get the club out of the relegation zone and get it back to where it belongs.”
Director of professional football Marcus Steegmann added: “We are very pleased that we were able to win Dominik Martinovic for Rot-Weiss Essen. With his great experience, his goal-scoring ability, which he has demonstrated in several seasons and has made him very popular, as well as his positive and inspiring nature, he is exactly the type of player we were looking for for our offensive. We are convinced that Dominik will strengthen us in the second half of the season.”
Just a few minutes later, Gjasula’s signing was announced. The defensive midfielder, who extended his contract with the Lilies after participating in the European Championship with Albania, was captain in the first two league games, but has hardly played since then.
“Klaus Gjasula is a real mentality player that we can all look forward to. We are proud that we were able to inspire him for RWE and the 3rd league and very much hope that he will help us with his aggressive style of play and his great experience on and off the pitch. We are very pleased that he can now be part of the training camp and integrate as quickly as possible,” said Steegmann.