VfL Bochum are already taking the steps to prepare for a 2025-26 promotion charge.

Colin Kleine-Bekel has joined VfL Bochum, the club from the Ruhrpott has announced this afternoon.

The central defender has signed a contract with the recently relegated Bundesliga side until 2028.

Kleine-Bekel joins the club on a free transfer from Holstein Kiel who also faced the drop in May. The 22-year-old last played for the Storks in March 2024 thanks to an untimely injury.

Bochum’s sporting director Dirk Dufner explains: “Colin Kleine-Bekel’s profile fits what we are looking for in many ways: a young, German talent who has already experienced the 2nd Bundesliga as a regular player”.