Felix Keidel: Klopp’s Bold Gamble at Right-Back

When Jürgen Klopp sat down for his first press conference as Germany head coach, he didn’t bother with sentiment. The slate was wiped clean. Reputation meant little, past caps even less. He spoke of performance, form, work rate – and a 57-man shortlist that would shape his first squads.

Names stayed under wraps. The message didn’t. After three failed World Cup campaigns, Germany’s rebuild would not be cosmetic. It would be ruthless.

Now one of those mystery names has surfaced – and it’s a shock.

From 3. Liga to the National Team Door

Late on Tuesday, Bild broke the story: Felix Keidel of SV Elversberg had received an invitation from Klopp. A day later, kicker backed it up with its own information. No smoke, then. There is fire.

Keidel is 23. He has just three Bundesliga appearances. On paper, this is not the kind of CV that usually lands on the desk of a Germany head coach.

But his rise has been steep.

At FC Ingolstadt, where he joined the U19s in 2012, Keidel climbed through every age group until he reached the first team in the summer of 2022. Within months, he was no longer a prospect but a pillar. In his first full season as a professional, still only 20, he played 37 matches in the 3. Liga, scoring once and adding four assists.

Then came the jump.

In 2025, Elversberg – still stinging from narrowly missing out on promotion against 1. FC Heidenheim – moved decisively. They bought Keidel out of his Ingolstadt contract for around €400,000. A modest fee. A big opportunity.

He didn’t blink. Under Vincent Wagner, Keidel immediately forced his way into the side. He made 25 league appearances, starting 13 of them, and helped drive a club from Saarland that had no right, on paper, to be celebrating promotion to the Bundesliga by the end of the season. Yet that’s exactly what happened.

From Germany’s third tier to the top flight in just over two years. Then the next leap: three Bundesliga outings – against Leverkusen, Gladbach and Bayern – and already a goal to his name. Add a DFB Cup match against MSV Duisburg, where he laid on two assists, and Klopp had seen enough.

For a national team still wrestling with its identity, Keidel’s body of work is tiny. But it’s clearly been loud enough.

A Fix for Germany’s Problem Position?

The obvious question hangs in the air: is Keidel already good enough to shape games for Germany?

That answer will only come on the pitch. What is clear is why Klopp’s interest runs deeper than raw numbers. Keidel offers something Germany have been crying out for – versatility with real bite.

At Ingolstadt, he was the tactical Swiss army knife. Sabrina Wittmann, his biggest advocate there, moved him across the pitch. Right-back, left-back, central midfield, attacking midfield. At times he operated as a classic playmaker, at others as a half-space runner drifting wide. Wherever there was a gap, Keidel filled it.

His move to Elversberg nudged him back a little. In the promotion campaign he mostly operated at right-back, the role closest to his natural position in a back four. This season, Wagner has pushed him inside more often, using him in defensive midfield alongside Lukasz Poreba, where his reading of the game and work rate can smother attacks before they start.

For Klopp, though, the picture is simpler. Germany need a right-back. A real one. And they’ve needed one for a long time.

Since Philipp Lahm retired and Joshua Kimmich shifted permanently into central midfield, that flank has become a revolving door. Hansi Flick and Julian Nagelsmann both searched for a solution, trying almost every profile available. Benjamin Henrichs and Ridle Baku at Leipzig. Josha Vagnoman at Stuttgart. Even Kimmich himself, briefly dragged back to the touchline at the 2026 World Cup.

None of those experiments stuck. None convinced as a long-term answer.

So the hunt goes on. German football still hasn’t found a high-quality, stable option at right-back in a back four. It remains one of the great structural headaches of this generation of the national team.

And now, out of the 3. Liga and through Elversberg’s unlikely rise, steps Felix Keidel.

Three Bundesliga games. One goal. A cup tie with two assists. A career built on adaptability and relentless progression rather than hype.

It’s a bold call from Klopp. Maybe even a risky one.

But if Germany’s new era is serious about breaking with the old patterns, perhaps it always had to start with a name nobody expected.