Hamburg’s Sebastian Schonlau set to join Thomas Müller at Vancouver Whitecaps

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port Bild reports that now former Hamburg captain Sebastian Schonlau will be following Thomas Müller to the Vancouver Whitecaps of the MLS. The German tabloid claims that Schonlau’s newly-promoted Bundesliga club will pay the 31-year-old a small severance fee to terminate his contract one year ahead of schedule. He’ll then move to Vancouver on a free. 

Sky Germany confirms the report, yet claims Hamburg will receive a low-six-figure transfer fee for Schonlau. The Warburg-native found himself unexpectedly stripped of the Hamburg captaincy after four years wearing the armband at the end of last week. Schonlau did not appear in Hamburg’s opening round cup tie over the weekend, but did feature in a snap test scrimmage yesterday called by head coach Merlin Polzin.

Schonlau brings with him the experience of ten seasons spent playing in Germany’s top three professional footballing divisions. The former Paderborn man did feature for his old club during their lone year in the German top flight. Schonlau scored two goals in 23 Bundesliga appearances for Steffen Baumgart’s Paderborn during the 2019/20 campaign. 

The MLS club’s German sporting director Axel Schuster was instrumental in recruiting Müller to Vancouver and has seized the opportunity to pounce on another German footballing veteran. A medical in the British Colombian metropolis is supposedly scheduled for tomorrow.

GGFN | Peter Weis