Keke Topp left the youth department of SV Werder Bremen to train at FC Schalke 04 under youth coach Norbert Elgert. A change that was not well received in the north, as the center forward revealed.
“I knew that Schalke was the right step for me. It’s never easy to leave your home, but in the life of a footballer, changes of location are part of it,” Keke Topp explained his move to Werder Bremen in the “WAZ” interview Summer 2021 to leave for Gelsenkirchen.
The problem from Werder’s point of view: They would have been happy to extend the contract with the then 17-year-old. The SVW wasn’t thrilled when Topp decided against an offer. “It’s true, Bremen weren’t happy,” revealed Topp, who still maintains contact with former teammates and those in charge.
“My contract expired in 2021, Werder wanted to extend it, but there were also other interested parties – including Schalke,” said the striker: “The prospect that was shown to me at Schalke convinced me to take the step.”
Topp is based on Terodde at FC Schalke 04
The youngster was initially used in the U19 team by S04 coach icon Norbert Elgert. Since then, the connection between the two has been close: “To this day, I get on very well with him. We talk on the phone at least once every week, he is an important person for me.”
After making his professional debut in the 2021/22 second division season at FC St. Pauli and his first Bundesliga appearance in Hoffenheim the following season, Keke Topp is increasingly fighting his way into the Royal Blues’ regular lineup in the current season. In the first half of the season he made nine appearances in the lower house and was in the starting line-up twice. In the last game before the winter break against Fürth, things broke when he scored his first professional goal.
One of his closest confidants in the team is fellow striker Simon Terodde, who revealed the offensive talent: “Simon is one of the bosses in our team who has already done a lot for me. I know that he thinks a lot of me and that he will help me with that wants to become a top striker. I can still learn a lot from him.”