His transfer fee is said to be between eleven and twelve million euros. The duration of the contract is not yet known.
The international transfer of ÖFB team player Alexander Prass is complete. The 23-year-old midfielder is leaving football champions Sturm Graz and joining German Bundesliga club TSG Hoffenheim. The two clubs announced this on Monday evening after a medical check.
Hoffenheim did not provide any information about the exact duration of the contract. According to German media reports, the transfer fee for Prass, including possible bonuses, is said to be in the range of eleven to twelve million euros.
“Absolutely deserved”
Prass is now the most expensive Austrian player in history to leave a domestic Bundesliga club that is not called Red Bull Salzburg. In recent weeks, the signs had already been pointing to a departure. Until recently, the Italian Champions League starters Atalanta Bergamo and Bologna were also under discussion. In the end, however, Hoffenheim won the race with interim sports director Frank Kramer. He has known Prass since his time at Salzburg’s second division farm team FC Liefering, from which he moved to Sturm in 2021.
According to Sturm’s sports director Andreas Schicker, the decisive offer came in late Sunday morning. “His departure is of course a bitter loss for us in sporting terms, but Alex has absolutely earned this step with his hard work,” explained Schicker. Sturm’s business director Thomas Tebbich confirmed that the move “is taking place in a remarkable region economically.” In the Schicker era, which has lasted since 2020, it is the third sale with double-digit million proceeds after Rasmus Höjlund (20 million) and Emanuel Emegha (13 million).
Prass has scored twelve goals and provided 26 assists in 130 games for Sturm. The left-footer was a key player in midfield during the Graz team’s championship season. The Upper Austrian has played nine times for the ÖFB national team. At the European Championships in Germany, he attracted attention as a left-back with two assists. “Looking back, joining SK Sturm three years ago was the right decision,” said Prass. “I was able to develop as a player and as a person.” He is now extremely excited about the challenge of the German Bundesliga.
“Squad construction site optimally closed”
Unlike other potential suitors, Hoffenheim does not play in the Champions League, but is represented in the Europa League as seventh in the league last season. Kramer must have been a big advocate. “Alex is a dynamic left-footer who has been used in the Austrian national team by Ralf Rangnick in recent months, including at the European Championships in Germany, as a left-back,” explained the sporting director. “We also see his greatest strengths there and want to continue to develop him in this position.”
After a serious injury to Czech David Jurasek, who broke his forearm in a test match last week, there was a need for action in the left-back position. With Prass, “this squad construction site has been filled in perfectly,” said Kramer. “He has a very good character, is extremely ambitious, hard-working and wants to develop further.” At the Sinsheim club, Prass will meet his ÖFB teammate Florian Grillitsch, and the American-born Pellegrino Matarazzo has been the coach for a year. (APA)
