BERLIN (AP) — Union Berlin has signed Germany left-back and winger Robin Gosens from Inter Milan for a club-record fee ahead of its first-ever Champions League campaign.
Union announced the transfer late Tuesday without specifying the contract length or the fee involved. Both Kicker and the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported it was worth up to 15 million euros ($16.4 million), nearly double the 8.5 million euros Union reportedly paid Liverpool for Nigerian forward Taiwo Awoniyi in 2021. Awoniyi has since joined Nottingham Forest.
The 29-year-old Gosens, who appeared as a substitute in last season’s Champions League final for Inter, will be playing in the Bundesliga for the first time after spending most of his career in the Netherlands and Italy.
“I always said it was my dream to play in Germany and the Bundesliga one day,” Gosens said. “Union’s last few years were impressive, it was noticeable from abroad too.”
Gosens, who has played 18 games for Germany, was born to a German mother and Dutch father in Emmerich, a German town near the Dutch border. He joined Dutch team Vitesse Arnhem before his 18th birthday in 2012.
Gosens played top-division football in the Netherlands for Heracles Almelo before joining Italian team Atalanta in 2017. Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini brought out the best from the tireless player in a 3-4-3 formation, where he played as a left back or winger.
Gosens joined Inter Milan in January 2022 for a reported fee of more than 27 million euros but failed to make the same impact as he had in four and a half seasons in Bergamo, hampered in part by injuries.
Generally used a substitute for Inter last season, Gosens came off the bench in the Champions League final loss to Manchester City. Italy international Federico Dimarco was preferred in his usual position on the left of midfield. Inter also signed Brazilian wing-back Carlos Augusto on loan from Monza on Tuesday.
Gosens hopes to play regularly to audition for a place on Germany’s team when the country hosts the European Championship next year. He starred for Germany at Euro 2020 but was omitted by Germany coach Hansi Flick for the World Cup last year. Flick cited his lack of playing time at Inter.
“In Robin, we were able to sign a player who stands for commitment, mentality and team spirit,” Union managing director Oliver Ruhnert said. ”We’ve been looking for these qualities and believe that with the signing of Robin, we have gained an important reinforcement for our game.”
Jérôme Roussillon was previously the only left back in Union’s squad.
Union, which was only promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in 2019, finished fourth last season to qualify for the Champions League. It also reached the last 16 of the Europa League.
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