FCA sign Yannik Keitel on loan from VfB Stuttgart
Loan deal with buy option
First Team
03.01.2026, 10:30
FC Augsburg have secured the services of Yannik Keitel. The 25-year-old, who can be deployed both in defensive midfield and the centre of defence, joins FCA on loan from VfB Stuttgart until the end of the season. FCA have also agreed a buy option. Both clubs have agreed not to disclose further details of the transfer.
A product of SC Freiburg’s youth academy, Yannik Keitel won the DFB Youth Pokal with the team’s U19s and later lifted the Regionalliga Südwest title with Freiburg’s U23 side. He went on to make a total of 64 Bundesliga appearances and feature nine times in the Europa League for Freiburg before moving to VfB Stuttgart ahead of the 2024/25 season. With the club, Keitel won the DFB-Pokal in May 2025 and made 18 competitive appearances, including four in the Champions League, in which he scored one goal. He has also earned 15 caps for Germany’s U21 national team.
Defensive all-rounder with Bundesliga experience
“Yannik is an intelligent player who can be used flexibly,” said FC Augsburg sporting director Benni Weber. “He can strengthen us immediately both in defensive midfield and in central defence, as he knows the Bundesliga well and so will not require a long adaptation period. We are convinced that he will be able to help our team both on and off the pitch in the near future. We are therefore all the more pleased that he has chosen to join FCA.”
Yannik Keitel added: “I am really looking forward to this new challenge in Augsburg. The talks with the club’s representatives were very positive, and I immediately felt that FCA and I were a very good fit. I am highly motivated to get started and will give everything to be successful with the team.”
Keitel, who will wear the number 14 shirt at FCA, will take part in his first training session with the squad following the winter break on Saturday (11:00 CET).
