Augsburg’s new versatile enforcer: Keitel in focus
FCA’s first January signing
First Team
05.01.2026, 12:00
Yannik Keitel put pen to paper last week to become FC Augsburg’s first new signing of the winter transfer window. The 25-year-old joins on a loan deal from VfB Stuttgart and is set to reinforce the team’s defensive spine.
Keitel should have no problem settling into life in Fuggerstadt: in Keven Schlotterbeck and Robin Fellhauer, Augsburg’s new number 14 already has a few former teammates from his time at SC Freiburg, while he also ran out with Finn Dahmen and Arne Maier for the Germany U21 national team. More recently than that, though, he played alongside FCA summer signing Fabian Rieder at Stuttgart. The pair even managed to achieve cup glory together last season, lifting the DFB-Pokal trophy high above their heads after a 4-2 victory over Arminia Bielefeld in May of last year.
Born in Breisach am Rhein, Keitel began his footballing journey at his local side SV Breisach, before making the move to the youth academy at SC Freiburg in 2011. He went on to star for the second team at SC from the summer of 2018, before finally making his Bundesliga debut on matchday 24 of the 2019/20 season in a 1-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund, having been named in the Freiburg squad on a number of prior occasions. The defensive midfielder, who can also operate as a central defender, made a total of 79 competitive appearances for SC.
Netting in the Champions League
Ahead of the 2024/25 season, Keitel made the move across Baden-Württemberg to VfB Stuttgart. His competitive debut for the side came on 27th November 2024 in a 5-1 defeat away at Crvena Zvezda in the Champions League. He did manage to get on the scoresheet later on in the same competition, though, finding the back of the net against Swiss side BSC Young Boys. Keitel made 18 competitive appearances for the Swabians across his first season in Stuttgart, although he was unable to play a single minute of Bundesliga football in the first half of this season, due to a muscular injury.
Keitel is swapping Baden-Württemberg for Bavaria by sealing the loan switch to Augsburg; he’s faced FCA on six occasions to date, leaving the field victorious every single time. Now he’ll look to strengthen the side by bringing an array of impressive qualities: composure in possession, ball-winning prowess, and tactical flexibility. “I can’t wait to get started with the task at hand, and I’m determined to use my energy to spur on the side,” said Keitel.
