Who is Ansgar Knauff? Frankfurt's Barcelona-killer discovered by Klopp

27 Oct 2022 08:38 BST
4 min read

Angar Knauff in action for Eintracht Frankfurt. — © ProShots

Ansgar Knauff was named Young Player of the Season by UEFA after Eintracht Frankfurt's run to Europa League glory last season, but what else is there to know?

Knauff played every single minute of Frankfurt's triumphant European campaign, scoring goals against Barcelona in the quarter-finals and West Ham in the semis before the Eagles beat Rangers in the final.

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Knauff was first scouted by Jurgen Klopp when playing in the OPEL Family Cup youth tournament at the age of 12. OPEL sponsored Dortmund at the time and Klopp, in his final season, went along as a guest of honour.

Knauff won the Golden Boot, a pair of Marco Reus' actual boots, and ultimately the chance train with and then sign for Dortmund. Still owned by BVB, the Germany under-21 international is now in the second season of an 18-month loan deal from the Bundesliga giants.

🤩 Ansgar #Knauff's first #Bundesliga goal was a DREAM. ✨🚀

Wish the @BlackYellow man well on his 2️⃣0️⃣th birthday today! 🎂🎂 pic.twitter.com/0fGoQE9A0N
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) January 10, 2022

What position does Knauff play in?

Primarily a right winger, from where he uses his pace to get past opposition full-backs and whip deliveries into the box, Knauff can also line up on the opposite flank as well as being used deeper as a full-back.

Many wingers are inverted these days - i.e. left footers playing on the right and vice versa - but Knauff is a right-footed right-winger whose skill-set means he can be used on the right of a 3-4-3, as has been the case with Frankfurt this season.

How good is Knauff?

Too good to sit on the bench at Dortmund, hence they agreed to let him pursue first-team football at Frankfurt in January.

"He approached us to state his wish to get more playing time on loan," Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl explained at the time. "We'd like to offer him this chance to continue his development at a high level."

Knauff has seized that chance. As well as his Europe League heroics, he has averaged two tackles, completed dribbles and shot-creating actions per game since he swapped Dortmund for Frankfurt, and can be optimistic of regular start at the Signal Iduna Park upon his return.

What clubs are interested in Knauff?

Frankfurt are obviously interested in making Knauff's loan deal permanent, but there is no existing clause in the contract to make that the case at the end of the season. Rated at €11m by Football Transfers in-house algorithm, he could end up costing twice that, with Newcastle credited with an interest in him this summer.