Native of Hamburg
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1. FC Heidenheim 1846 has once again strengthened itself in the fight to stay in the league and, following Hennes Behrens (20) on loan from TSG, has now signed striker Christian Conteh from Eintracht Braunschweig. The 26-year-old will sign with the Ostalb until 2029 and, according to consistent media reports, will cost around 1.5 million euros including possible bonuses.
Conteh is leaving BTSV, which is still in a relegation battle in the 2nd Bundesliga, after a year and a half, 35 games with five goals and five assists. The Hamburg native contributed eight of his ten scorer points this season, in which he gradually increased his market value from 500,000 to 800,000 euros. With his first jump into the Bundesliga, a further increase could be imminent in the spring (discuss this in the market value analysis!). The transfer also makes him one of the ten most expensive departures from Braunschweig and Heidenheim only paid six times more for a new signing.
At a glance: Heidenheim’s most expensive arrivals / Braunschweig’s most expensive departures
At FCH, Conteh will be reunited with his brother Sirlord Conteh (29) for the first time since the 2018/19 season. At that time, the duo played together 19 times for FC St. Pauli II in the Regionalliga Nord before Sirlord moved to 1. FC Magdeburg in the summer of 2019. The fast winger ended up in Heidenheim in 2024 via FCM and SC Paderborn, where he is mostly a regular. This season he had to miss two and a half months due to a torn meniscus, but was recently back in the starting line-up.
Like his brother, Christian spent most of the games on the right wing, but this season in Braunschweig he impressed in the 3-4-2-1 and 3-5-2 systems both in attack and in the attacking midfield behind a classic forward line. Since 2000, they will be the 22nd pair of brothers to play – not necessarily together – for the same Bundesliga club.
“With the signing of Christian Conteh, we are now adding a player to our team who can be used offensively on both wings as well as in the center. His extreme speed and dribbling fit our requirements profile perfectly,” said FCH boss Holger Sanwald. Conteh added: “The move to Heidenheim is the next important step in my career for me. I am of course very familiar with the club through my brother – being able to play with them in the Bundesliga in the future will of course be something very special. The FCH stands for a lot of passion, hard work and great solidarity – these are values that I can fully identify with and that also fit my path so far.”