Deserving players farewell
©IMAGO
Before the last home game of the season against Werder Bremen on Saturday (3:30 p.m.), TSG Hoffenheim will say goodbye to three long-standing and deserving players. The contracts of Grischa Prömel (31), Ihlas Bebou (32) and Kevin Akpoguma (31) will not be extended. While Prömel is set to move to VfB Stuttgart, the future of the other two is still open.
At least there are already some inquiries for attacker Bebou. How “Sky” reports, Bundesliga rivals Union Berlin and 1. FC Köln as well as the newly crowned Swiss champions FC Thun have signaled interest in him. In the current season, Bebou remained without a scorer in 17 short appearances.
| rumor | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | I. Bebou |
 | ||||||||
Center forward | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
“Ihlas came back from an injury this season and was an important part of the team with 17 competitive appearances this season. He has proven his qualities again and again and was a guarantee of important goals for years. Ihlas has definitely left his mark on TSG,” said sports director Andreas Schicker. Since 2019, Bebou has played 176 games, eleventh among Hoffenheim’s most appearances. He scored 37 goals, seventh in the TSG ranking.
TSG Hoffenheim also says goodbye to Akpoguma and Prömel
Central defender Akpoguma was on the pitch for Hoffenheim even more often. Since 2013 he has made 201 appearances (four goals), which puts him two places ahead of Bebou. This season, however, there were only seven short appearances lasting a total of 44 minutes.
“Kevin was one of the faces in the club for years. He represents TSG’s approach to promoting talent. In addition, he was always an important contact in the dressing room for young and new players. Unfortunately, Akpo didn’t get the playing time he wanted in the current season, but he always served the team in an exemplary manner and contributed his part to the team’s success as a team player,” explained Schicker.
Prömel wore the Kraichgauer jersey for four years and became a national player. As a top performer, the midfielder contributed 14 goals and eight assists in 85 games. Only a broken ankle and a torn cruciate ligament were able to stop him in the meantime. Prömel will soon receive a contract with VfB in his hometown of Stuttgart until 2029. Both clubs are still fighting for a place in the Champions League at the end of the season.
“Grischa was a leader on the pitch from the very first moment in Hoffenheim. He also had a very positive human influence on the atmosphere in the team. Even two serious injuries didn’t slow him down; in fact, he always came back even stronger and continued to move forward consistently,” added Schicker.
A notice: If you google something, in addition to the normal results, you will also see a box with current news. If you set Transfermarkt as your preferred source, our content will appear there more often for you. Add TM as a preferred source here.
