Augsburg loan Maximilian Bauer out to FC Kaiserslautern | OneFootball

FC Augsburg have loaned centre-back Maximilian Bauer out to FC Kaiserslautern. The 24-year-old heads to the 2. Bundesliga on a six-month loan after making 11 league appearances for his Bundesliga club this season. Bauer brings with him the experience of 44 second-division fixtures during his time with SpVgg Greuther Fürth. He’s also made a total of 78 appearances for Fürth and Augsburg in the top flight.

After Bauer represented Fürth during the 2021/22 Bundesliga campaign, Augsburg snapped the once highly touted German youth international up on a free from the relegated Kleeblätter. Bauer was a regular fixture in FCA head coach Enrico Maaßen’s starting XI during the 2022/23 campaign, but his appearances continued to decline under the coaching regime of Jess Thorup.

Thorup handed Bauer eight starts this season, including one against Stuttgart in the first match back from the winter break. Bauer nevertheless – thanks in part to the emergence of AS Monaco loanee Chrislain Matsima – enjoyed little prospect of earning playing time during the current “Rück-runde”.

The arrival of VfL Wolfsburg central defender Cedric Zesiger on loan and the emergence of 18-year-old German American prospect Noakhki Banks further diminished Bauer’s chances of getting minutes. At present, not even Keven Schlottterbeck enjoys firm status in Thorup’s back-three.

Lautern continue to push for promotion this season. The traditional south-west German powerhouse have already picked up two attackers from Bundesliga clubs, acquiring Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Grant-Leon Ramos on loan and purchasing Eintracht Frankfurt striker Faride Alidou.

“Maximilian has developed enormously in recent years and, despite his young age, he is already an experienced Bundesliga player,” Lautern managing director Thomas henge noted in a club statement. “We firmly believe that he will bring even more versatility and stability to our defense. It quickly became clear that a win-win situation could arise for both sides.”

“We hope this move will help him [Bauer] get as much playing time as possible and keep his rhythm,” FCA sporting director Marinko Jurendic added. “This [loan] was the best possible solution in the current situation.“

GGFN | Peter Weis