Justin Diehl played for the first time for the first team at 1. FC Köln. Was his starting eleven debut the next step on the way to a shared future?
Thomas Kessler obviously has a good memory. After the 1-1 draw at VfB Stuttgart on Saturday afternoon, the Cologne licensing area manager grabbed Justin Diehl, the youngest player in a generally very young FC team, to remind him of a conversation together in 2021.
“I talked to Justin a little more intensively about this exact topic two and a half years ago,” revealed Kessler when asked about Diehl’s starting eleven debut in Stuttgart. At that time he said to the 16-year-old offensive talent: “I want you to be in the starting line-up in the Bundesliga at some point.”
Diehl’s starting eleven debut after twelve and a half years at FC
This was the case for the first time against VfB after four substitute appearances in recent weeks. Diehl’s seventh professional game was his first from the start. “I reminded him of that time and congratulated him on making it,” added Kessler, who – just like Diehl – had once gone through all of the Billy Goats’ youth teams to get to the Bundesliga team.
If you count his youth stints, Diehl has been at FC longer than any other player in the Cologne professional squad. He laced up his football boots for the first time at Geißbockheim when he was just six years old, that was 13 years ago this summer. His loss on a free transfer after the end of the season, which has been speculated about for months, would be all the more bitter.
But FC should no longer be without a chance in the competition for the future of the Cologne native. Despite numerous financially strong interested parties such as VfB Stuttgart or TSG Hoffenheim, who may even be enticing with the European Cup, Diehl should no longer rule out a contract extension in his home country.
Schultz wants to continue to build up Diehl
“It’s fun to work with him. That’s the most important thing for me,” said FC coach Timo Schultz about the youngster after the 1-1 draw at VfB. And Diehl, demoted to the U21 in the first half of the season, should have a similar experience. He likes working with the new head coach, who focuses more consistently on youth and on Saturday fielded the youngest starting eleven of all clubs this Bundesliga season with an average age of 24.2 years.
The poker around Diehl could drag on – and not least depend on which league Cologne will play in next season. Schultz promised on Saturday: “We will continue to build Justin up, he will continue to get his assignments.” Regardless of his decision for the future. In Stuttgart, Diehl indicated his “potential in some offensive one-on-one situations.” the coach said, “but he also saw today that he still needs to improve in some areas.”
This includes the decision-making of the often too playful left winger, who occasionally has to separate from the ball earlier, and the defensive work. However, Schultz would also find it “bad” if a 19-year-old no longer had to gain weight. “Justin is a very talented young guy who of course still has to learn the hard way, but he has the quality and the courage to look for one-on-one situations. That’s good for us,” said Thomas Kessler. It’s not for nothing that he had Diehl’s starting eleven debut in mind two and a half years ago.